Once Upon a Crest
by Whisperer in the Wind
Summary: "He dared to love her when no one would. He dared to love her when no one could. He dared to love her when no one should. He dared to love her and by his love stood."
1. Puzzle Pieces

ONCE UPON A CREST  
  
To Whomever it may Concern,  
  
This letter holds the account of a story long forgotten, if not have ever been revealed. It's a story of Love. Loss. Adventure. Immortality. It's a story unlike any you've ever heard before, or ever will hear again. Believe it if you will. Perhaps you wont, ruling the story is based completely on my account, and who am I that you should believe anything I say? Let me tell you who I am. I am one who has grieved the ages. I am one who knows human nature better than the woman maliciously attacked by men. I am the one that you feel watching you, when you think are alone. I am one, that is alone, and will be, till the last dawn, and the last sunset, and I shall have the last breath. Even though that grieves me, I will laugh when the rest of you cease to exist, because I will know the truth that you spent your whole lives trying to figure out. I will die with a knowledge that you will never understand. I will have my last vision, knowing exactly what it is that haunts your dreams. What you see out of the corner of your eye, and look to find nothing. What it is that drives you on, even when there seems to be no hope. I have traveled the ages, me and my crest. The crest binds me, but I have fought it, and now I tell you this story of once upon a time. You would be wise to read it, because if you don't, the story will die, and so will I.  
  
  
  
Jonathan looked down, from his seat on the tree stump, at the unsigned letter he held in his hands. He looked at the seal of candle wax, engraved with two long leaves that fit together like a puzzle piece. The letter had been left next to the stump, next to old brown tattered papers that had been rolled together, and tied shut with tiny vines. He stood up, and looked around at all the trees that surrounded him. This really was the most beautiful part of the forest, but he had yet to discover more.  
  
Jonathan was a rich, 38 year old businessman from Europe. He left his country at 19 to go to America and become successful. Unlike most, he was very fortunate in his quest. He believed it was because he was very practical, and very determined. He was the kind of man that had to step on people to get to where he had come. The kind of man, that started with a dream, grew into a vision, and somewhere on his path, lost his soul.  
  
At 33, when his life started to creep up the ladder of success, he met his future wife Vickie, his attractive assistant, with the long blond hair, and the perfect model figure. It wasn't long before their affair began, and not long at all before he took her for a bride. They didn't share much love for each other. Vickie had given up trying to make him love her long ago, but she was beautiful, and he liked showing her off.  
  
At 38, Jonathan Statton had everything any man ever wanted. Money, fame, success, a beautiful wife, no children, and a recently bought 200 acres of woods in which a 36 bedroom mansion sat. He had bought the land for both privacy, and he had never lost his need to discover new worlds. He grew up in a place like this. As a boy, he loved the woods. Twice a week his mother had to send large company just to find him and return him home. It was a part of him that never left. And here he was, and the magic was still there. His first day exploring, and already a mysterious letter claiming to have a great story were just waiting for him. Sparks flew inside him, but he denied himself the belief of such a thing, and convinced his ego someone was playing a joke on him. But his subconscious would not let it go. So he picked up the story, sat back on his stump, and opened the roll of numerous papers.  
  
He brushed back his full black hair, and shook of the few gray by his ears that had shed onto his hands. His large dark eyes starred hungrily at the words before him, and his large tan hands scratched his strong, unshaved chin. He took a moment to unbutton the top few buttons on his suit jacket, but his gaze instantly pried back to the endless train of letters and dust before him. Something, despite his sense of logic, hypnotized him to the paper. His heart, unnaturally desired to know its content.  
  
He laughed, as if trying to prove to himself his better judgment, but the sound ceased within the first couple lines.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
They never expected to wake up and see their last sunrise. They didn't plan it to happen. No one does. They woke with the same feeling they had every morning. The person I love lies warm next to me, my child sleeps safe in her cradle not more than 10 feet away, and the air around me is fresh with the morning dew.  
  
They would breath in deeply, and turn to each other, long having waited the night, for the morning to come, so they could stare into each other's eyes. His, as blue as the sky, and deep as the sea, and hers, gold like the flames that warmed the night, and calm like the sea before a storm.  
  
There's was a special kind of love. A kind that could be broken by none but death himself.  
  
She embraced her husband, stroking his golden face, and smoothing his long dark hair. He returned the affection to her own peach skin, kissing her rosy cheeks, and crying his happy tears into her long curly red hair, that reached her smooth hips.  
  
If they'd had many friends, they would've told the couple they were too young to marry, but they were very much alone in the world, except for each other, and it was all they needed. He built the very house they slept in for her with his own hands, in the midst of the trees that provided strong protection, but not that day. There was something different in the air that morning, but they were too much in love to notice.  
  
They ran through the trees, hand in hand, her carrying the baby, and him a basket with food for a sweetened lunch. They stopped every so often to steal a kiss, and this seemed to please the child, who cheered and clapped, and released a happy squeal.  
  
They found a clearing they had never seen before. The field was long, and the trees circled around it. There was plenty of room for them to run fast, and wild, and not have to worry about scratching their perfect faces on branches. Not that they cared for beauty. They had never been around any people to learn the importance of beauty. To them, it was only them, and their child.  
  
The little girl sat among a patch of flowers, while the two older held hands and spun in circles, until they were too dizzy, and fell on top of each other. She laughed and clapped and squealed. She ate the pink and purple flowers, and tried to grab the little lady bugs that flew around her. Her blond curly locks fell in front of her eyes, and she tried to pull them out. She lay back, and rolled around in the flowers.  
  
Her parents stood up to run around the outer most edges of the fields. They got closer and closer, and their laughter continued to grow, when from somewhere in the trees, a silver blade flew, and struck straight into his heart, causing him to fall back. She was too stricken to scream out. She looked down at her love, who's chest had been torn open. His eyes stared wide, and he did not move.  
  
She began to rock back and forth on her feet, not sure of what had happened, or what she should do, when a loud call like a beast sounded in the woods. It was then that she saw its face. I have said before they new nothing of appearance, but his face chilled her to her very bones. He looked half man, half wolf, half bear, and his body was covered in what looked like sap from the trees.  
  
Her ears picked up the sound of her crying baby, and she turned and ran to the child. The creature behind her followed after, and in one scoop, she grabbed the little girl, and ran as fast as she could back into the trees. He wasn't far, but when she'd entered the woods she knew so well, he began to fall behind. She didn't fear her life, for she new it would soon come to an end, but only the life of her child.  
  
She knew exactly where she was going, and it didn't take her long to get there. The tree had been hollowed from age and insects, and her child could hide in it perfectly. She didn't have time to kiss her, for the monster was just around a tree near by. She ran as far away as she could, leading it far from her baby, and the last thing the child heard was a scream in the distance. She fell silent. She felt alone, and scared, but by some force of nature unknown, kept silent.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Jonathan released his attention from the story. Not exactly sure what to think. His heart had been hardened throughout his years of labor, and he still did not believe there was any truth in the story, but something kept whispering in the back of his mind. The story held some power over him.  
  
He grabbed the documents, and headed back to his home. The house felt empty, and he wasn't sure where Vickie had gone to. He was never sure anymore. One of his maids, Freda, a midget of some sort, with black curly hair, and astoundingly big blue eyes, appeared and asked him if he had been thirsty. He waved his hand at her, and gave her his coat.  
  
Gerald, his butler, also very short, with a thick beard, and a round belly, poked around from a corner, laughing heartily at a joke he had just heard. "The doctors coming later." He claimed, and walked back into the kitchen to converse with the cook.  
  
Again, Jonathan was left alone, and he trudged into his study. He sat in his leather chair, and looked up at all his plaques. He had at least two awards for every year he had worked at Statton Corp. He laid the papers about his organized desk, as the adventure before him continued to unfold. 


	2. Golden Child

(In case you are confused, LOTR characters will begin to enter the story, and no, this isn't people getting sent to ME from the future. The summary didn't really say a whole lot, so I thought I'd give you a little more here. Jonathan is a 38 year old man who lives a meaningless, loveless life, and he comes across this story about the elves, and it starts to affect him and how he acts around people. Also, if you pay attention, there are characters around Jonathan, that parallel with characters from LOTR. I know it's kind of cheating telling you that, but I really didn't want anyone to miss that. Example: Frodo and Freda. O.K, that's all. Enjoy.)  
  
Once Upon a Crest  
  
********************************************************************  
  
It was on this day that King Elrond and his distant friend, King Thrandruil, were set out to visit the couple and their child. Both parties had met not to long ago, when the kings had discovered they were alone, and offered them place in the forest, and a ceremonious wedding, if they promised to keep the creatures of their forest safe. Being already in love with the forest and all it's creatures, and magic, they agreed.  
  
When the orcs entered the forest, the wild began to stir, and word reached the kings that evil was about, making them quicken their pace as the birds led them to the trouble. But they had gotten there too late. 3 orcs were dragging off the woman, and the two kings sent their arrows flying killing them all.  
  
They ran to her, but there was no hope for this woman's poor mangled body. "Shed not one tear for this girl." Elrond spoke sternly. Thrandruil nodded, and took off to find the boy. Elrond studied the body closely. "You did well child." He spoke softly. "The forest has been safe for as long as you've dwelled here, and my creatures have reported nothing but happiness to me. If there is anything I can do to repay you, I will. I am in your debt."  
  
At this, a noise, unlike any animal, cried in the distance. It was far, but not hard for his elf ears to pick up on. He ran towards the sound, keeping a radar out for more orcs. The wind blew at his back, directing him where to go. He increased his speed as his curiosity crept closer to him.  
  
He stopped when the earth fell still. All but a sound coming from a big round tree was silent. There was a hollowing inside the big dark wood, and he sensed a protective force around it. "You must keep it safe." The tree spoke to his mind.  
  
Elrond walked slowly, and peered inside the oval shaped hole to find a small child sitting inside. She clapped and laughed at the site of Elrond.  
  
The tree spoke again to Elrond, "The child before you is from that which is now passed, and is the last of her decent. Her locks are now blond, but one day they will darken like her fathers." Her golden eyes stared wide and curiously at the king. "Keep her safe, until her hair changes to look more like your peoples'. Then release her to her own."  
  
"It will be a danger to keep a human child in our world. What about love? I will surely not let my people die broken hearted from loving a human."  
  
The tree grew fierce. "You promised this child's mother you would repay her! And this you must, for you are a noble elf, and must keep your word, and this child MUST remain safe, for reasons beyond your understanding." Elrond nodded. "Raise her how you will, but protect her with all your power."  
  
Elrond reached his hands in the tree and carefully lifted out the tiny being inside. He cradled her in his arms, and took one good look to build an image of her in his memory, but that was all the affection he gave her.  
  
She rested in his arm as he ran back to his horse. He met up with Thrandruil who said the boy was found dead. "Come," Elrond demanded. "We will send back servants to retrieve their bodies." Thrandruil looked questioningly at the baby in Elrond's arms, but said nothing.  
  
They rode off quickly heading back to King Elrond's kingdom, child in arms, and questions in mind.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
"Mr. Statton! Mr. Statton." Jonathan tore his eyes off the paper and found Freda standing at the door.  
  
Irritated for being interrupted from his story he snapped at her. "What is it Freda?"  
  
She shrunk back even smaller than she already was. "Um, sorry for disturbing you sir, but the doctor is here.  
  
"Oh, yes of course. Sorry Freda. Let him in."  
  
Freda walked off hurriedly, and a moment later, the doctor entered. "Good Evening my friend," the doctor greeted warmly. The man had always gave Jonathan chills, even though he was so kind. He was taller than any man he'd ever met before. His hair was long and white, and he kept it back in a tie. His nose was rather large, especially compared to Jonathan's sharp strong nose. His eyes were small, but pleasing, and when he spoke, the whole room shook and was filled with power.  
  
Never the less, the doctor was gentle man, and Jonathan liked him. Mostly because he wasn't like most the people Jonathan knew, and he wasn't like Jonathan. The only thing they seemed to share was a love of magic.  
  
"I just need to take a blood sample John." The doctor said powerfully as he put down his bag. His long coat swept the floor.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, no. We just discovered some activity in your last blood sample, and I need another one to run some tests. I wouldn't worry about it."  
  
"Oh, fine then. Doctor Falgand? Has anyone ever been known to die from a broken heart?"  
  
"Oh," the doctor laughed, "I wouldn't worry about your heart breaking anytime soon. I'd say you've got pretty much everything you need right here."  
  
"I'm not talking about me. I mean, has it ever happened?"  
  
"I suppose it's possible, all though I've never seen it. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I just read something, that's all."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing you would know of."  
  
The doctor made a humph, and wrapped a rubber tie around Jonathan's upper arm. As he wrapped he noticed the letter with the wax seal on Jonathan's desk. "The Mirkwood Crest!" He exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Jonathan jumped with curiosity. "What is it?"  
  
The doctor held up the letter. "Where did you get this?"  
  
"I found it."  
  
"Where? Where did you find this?" He was now waving the letter in Jonathan's face.  
  
"In my yard. Therefore it is mine." Jonathan grabbed the paper greedily.  
  
"Relax John. You know me better. I recognize that symbol."  
  
John eased his tension, and begged for explanation.  
  
"This Crest is the sign of the Mirkwood Elves. They made gold bracelets in the form of two leaves fitting together like a puzzle piece. It's only legend, but I must admit I've taken my fair share of study over it. I stumbled upon a book one day, and from then, I just could not get elves out of my head. I was soon led to discover more and more creatures of this time."  
  
"What time?" He was now on his knees on the chair like an excited little child.  
  
"Long ago my friend. I can't be sure, but before men had taken over I'm sure. Wait, broken hearts? That's what you asked right?"  
  
Jonathan nodded.  
  
"Elves could only die from battle, or broken hearts."  
  
"So, they were immortal?"  
  
"Yes, yes, they were immortal. If they really existed, there could even be some alive today. But even if, it's not very likely considering, well the stories say any way, there was a great battle that killed most of them off."  
  
"You surely don't believe in this do you?"  
  
"No, no, of course not. But something draws me to their story. Do you know what that's like? To be drawn to a story?"  
  
Jonathan looked away. He didn't want to answer. He suddenly felt foolish, and didn't want the doctor to know what he had found. "Please, take my blood, and go."  
  
"Have I said something John?"  
  
"No. I just think I'm tired and I'd like to rest."  
  
The doctor took his blood sample, nodded to Jonathan, and left.  
  
Jonathan turned out the light, locked the door, and left his study, and the story.  
  
He went to his room and changed into a pair of sweats and a sweater. A chill began to take over his house. He laid down in his empty bed, wondering again where his wife had been, and before long, sleep took him over, and his dreams filled with all sorts of magic and creatures he'd never heard of before.  
  
An unfamiliar voice whispered into his dreams. "Jonathan." It whispered hypnotically, "Jonathan? Please, don't let me go. There's more. There's more in the story. You must know about her. You must! Someone must love her. You know. You know what it's like to need to be loved."  
  
At this, Jonathan shot up in his bed. He looked over to find Vickie lying asleep next to him. Her hair was wet as if she'd just showered, and no make up painted her face. He looked at his clock on the night stand. 3 am. It read. He jumped out of bed, and threw a robe over his chilled body.  
  
He quietly tip toed out of the room, and then dashed down the stairs back to his study, anxious to finish the story, and release himself from the power that hung over him, and consumed his mind. Anxious to learn who she was.  
  
(A.N: I made up the whole crest thing. I haven't read LOTR yet, so I don't know if or what kind of symbol they had for their race, but I made up the crest for purposes of my plot, and because it was a gold bracelet like the crest I described that inspired me to write this story. Funny how that happens, isn't it? Please let me know what you think, and I promise the next chapter will have more LOTR characters in it.) 


	3. He Dared to Love her

"He dared to love her when no one would. He dared to love her when no one could. He dared to love her when no one should. He dared to love her and by his love stood."  
  
Once Upon a Crest  
  
Chapter 3: He Dared to Love Her  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The two Elven Kings entered the kingdom of Rivendell, home of Lord Elrond, with one extra addition to the party that had left earlier that morning. Many watched as they rode in, observing the bundle Elrond held in one arm, but the men continued forward without looking back.  
  
They stopped in front of the council room, and jumped off their horses, leaving the tenants to take the animals back to their stables. Each step their feet fell upon was an unstained white, like most of the kingdom. Engravings marked the walls they passed, telling stories of the great elves from the past, present, and even of the future, though there weren't quite as many there.  
  
Elrond and Thranduil stepped inside the room, where the council had been waiting for them. Elrond gave the account of the orcs, and the humans as he had found them, but the council continued to observe the child that he had clutched to his chest as if one false move, and the little girl would slip away forever.  
  
"I know you are all greatly curious as to how I begot the child." Elrond spoke sternly. "The child has been entrusted into my care, and I will raise her here until I decide to send her on her own."  
  
"My Lord," spoke one of the council, one of the less fair elves of Rivendell, "are you sure this is such a good idea?"  
  
"Do not believe I don't take you wisdom to consideration. You have served me well, and have always proved good in judgment. I know the consequences, but I have not been left the choice to weigh them. I am king, and I decree, the child will stay here."  
  
There was nothing the council could do, but nod in acceptance, and nothing more was spoken about it.  
  
***  
  
The child's parent's bodies were found bye servants of Elrond, and brought back, where they were given an honorable burial. Elrond ordered them buried in a place far into the kingdom next to the river, that was rarely visited by any elf, and the child could visit them when she grew. He knew he could do that much for her, for there was much he knew he could not.  
  
***  
  
He was sitting in a room he used to think, watching the child sleep on a mound of colorful pillows that rested on a round carpet on the floor. There had not been many a time he had been lost in decision making, but this was a matter he could not take lightly, and still he bewildered at the unexpected presence of the child.  
  
A knock came to the door, and entered Thranduil, his grown son Legolas, and Elrond's grown daughter Arwin. "What ails you father?" She asked sitting next to him, for she had not yet heard of the child's coming. She looked over to see the sleeping girl, and was taken back. "To Whom does she belong father?"  
  
But Elrond continued to sit silent and stare, so Thranduil spoke for him. "Her parents were taken by the orcs, and your father has brought her here to care for her."  
  
Arwin looked at her dad questioning him with her eyes, but he would not take his eyes from the child.  
  
"Her ears, they're not pointed." Legolas spoke for the first time.  
  
Arwin looked back at the girl, and her mouth dropped a small amount. "Father? We cannot have a human here. You know the dangers."  
  
"What?" Asked Legolas.  
  
Thranduil answered his son. "You know of what we speak Legolas. The child will grow among elves, and one day die, leaving behind a group of immortals with broken hearts, and you know what that means."  
  
"But we have been friends with humans before."  
  
"Yes, but never have they grown among us, picking up our traits, becoming so much like us as too love us truly with their souls."  
  
Elrond looked up at this toward his old friend, but still said nothing.  
  
"Then why do you keep her?" Legolas asked, and the child began to stir.  
  
Elrond stood and spoke. "I have no choice."  
  
Arwin, who had not spoken for a while stood up next to her father, and though she angered inside, spoke calmly but sternly, "I will have no part in this." And walked out of the room.  
  
"As you should." Elrond whispered after her.  
  
Thranduil and his son said nothing for a while, until Thranduil could no longer bear the silence. "Have you some plan in mind?"  
  
"Not exactly," Elrond Answered. "I suppose I shall take it day by day, and see where that leads me.  
  
"Surely a child can not bring so much harm." Legolas jumped in enthusiastically.  
  
"Legolas!" His father exclaimed. "You are young, and have little understanding of these matters. Do not try to contribute to this. Stand back in silence, and show a little more respect for Lord Elrond. Perhaps, try to show some respect for loyalty for once yes?"  
  
Legolas obeyed his father's command to step back immediately, but his mind continued to argue their words.  
  
"I should start with something simple, and I suppose that would be the matter of her name." Elrond claimed. Thranduil raised a brow curious as to hot the present situation would turn. "I don't think I can. Too much attachment comes with the naming of a being." He looked at his two companions. "Perhaps I will call in a maiden."  
  
"Let me." Legolas said hesitantly. Both kings looked back at him. Thranduil, about to object, was silenced by Elrond.  
  
"Let the boy." He demanded.  
  
Legolas looked to his father, who nodded in approval after some time, and then walked slowly to the child.  
  
"Be quick about it." His father spat. "And give her a name of human tongue."  
  
Legolas nodded to the king, and then turned his attention back to the child. He dared not touch her, for fear of his father, but instead observed her blond locks, and golden eyes. "She shall be called Adah; ornament, for she is the prettiest babe I have ever beheld."  
  
The baby cheered, and tried to lay her hands on Legolas, but he backed away, and smiled with pity at Adah. Thranduil shook his head in disapproval.  
  
"Then so be it." Proclaimed Elrond. "She is Adah."  
  
***  
  
Adah grew with 4 maidservants to care for her, but they were warned never to speak to her, unless necessary, and they rarely did. She was kept far from Elrond, but not denied his presence, for he did swear to care for her.  
  
3 years had passed, and Thranduil had not visited the kingdom of Elrond, though Elrond did come to see him when he could spare it, and Legolas was sent off with other young Mirkwood elves, (who were not extremely young. To your and my eyes, they may seem to be in only their twenties, but they were indeed a couple thousands of years. In their reference, they had recently come of age) on a quest to improve their strengths, and correct their weaknesses. So it was some time before he would see Rivendell, or the child again, though he did think of her often. He had come to agree with Elrond, that naming a being did precede attachment.  
  
Though Adah had never any company besides her maid servants, she was still innocent to the world, and was more like a little sprite. She would jump and laugh whenever possible, and she clapped at, and praised the life inside the forest. She found friendship in animals, and their play was of some entertainment to the maidens that had to follow her daily.  
  
The maidens did grow tired of watching a child they could not talk to, or befriend, and devised a system so they would not all grow weary or bored. During the child's play time, they took turns, one maid to the child a day.  
  
And it was on a certain warm, beautiful sunny day, of her third year, when the flowers were full in blossom from the spring season, and the butterflies had gathered in large and wild bunches in the fields, that Adah's youngest maid servant had taken her out.  
  
Adah was being taught to walk by a young fawn that visited her often, and the maiden fell asleep in the tall grass. She had been up all the night before, with a handsome gentleman who had been visiting from Mirkwood. Adah, not having anyone to stop her, climbed upon the fawns back, and was carried off to wear Arwin dwelled.  
  
Arwin, at first thinking she was being brought an injured child ran to Adah, but at the site of the blond, curly locks, and the human ears, she frowned, and turned away.  
  
Adah climbed off the animals back, and followed Arwin, leaving the fawn to rest. She climbed slowly, and with great effort up the steps that led from the dirt up to an upper part of the structure.  
  
"How did you get here?" Arwin asked, but the child did not answer. Since her maid servants were not aloud to converse with her, Adah did not have much of a vocabulary as of yet. Instead she laughed and kept running after Arwin, excited that someone was giving her attention. "This place was given to me by my father, and no one else is aloud here." Arwin claimed demandingly.  
  
They were surrounded by a stone walk way, and tall white pillars that held a stone roof. Under the roof was an open room, with a wooden bed covered in feathered pillows, and outside was a decent sized area where one could sit and think on the stone bench, or the circle stone pond with a statue of an elf girl none had ever seen in the center. Arwin liked to sit on the bench, stare out at the miles of beauteous nature before her.  
  
She turned and bent down to the child, who grabbed at Arwin's long black hair. Arwin pulled back her hair, and spoke sternly to the child. "You should not be here. Do you understand? I do not want you here."  
  
The last phrase was one the child understood, for she had heard it many times before. Adah's smile faded, and she turned and ran back to the fawn, who rushed her back to an angry maiden. She picked the child up, ignoring her tears, and took her back to her room.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Jonathan Statton put down the last sheet he had read, and stared at a spot on the wall, letting his mind wander. It drew him back to a time when he was young, and lived with his mother, father, and two older brothers.  
  
Him and his brothers were constantly competing for their father's attention, and love. They competed for a lot of things, and John's wit and stamina helped him to win most of the battles. But his father was beyond him. He only seemed to approve of his sons when they worked their hardest.  
  
They were a poor family, and his mother was hardly ever home. She had to work long hours just to help the family buy food, and the father worked for a coal mining companies. The two older sons also worked with their father in the mines when they were old enough, but Jonathan knew that didn't earn them hardly anything, and swore to his family that he would go to America and earn a mountainful of money to support his family.  
  
Thus his journey began. His goal for his family drove him on and on, and his practiced determination to please his father kept him at will. But the more money he made, which didn't start coming in till he was in late 20's, the more he remembered his father's drunkenness, and his mother's lack of presence in his life, and his brothers cold, angered hearts, the more he began to believe his family deserved nothing.  
  
Still, he sent them a fair amount every month, but never as much as he could have, and he never wrote, or sent for them to come to America. Eventually, he had an assistant send the money for him, and concealed by his hate and his greed, his family was long forgotten, until now.  
  
He began to feel a remorse for Adah, but nothing yet for himself or his family. He began to wonder how the child might turn out when she was older, if the story brought him that far.  
  
"Relax Jonathan." He said to himself. "It's just a story. Nothing real. Elves and such. Ha! I think Falgand needs to go see a doctor himself."  
  
He turned in his chair to look out the window behind him. Light was beginning to peak over the mountains, and the trees began to take shape before him. He soaked in the site, thinking of his own home as a boy. He remembered the trees he loved so much, and how he took comfort in them. And the remembrance of how he used to think he could talk with them and they could talk back began to creep back up into his thoughts. He laughed at himself. "Really John. You were an odd child."  
  
He turned back to the story, wondering if he should go on with it, but the words of his dream were starting to haunt him again, and sighing, he picked up the next piece of paper. He studied the writing for a while. It didn't seem like regular ink, but more like calligraphy writing. It was how he first wrote. Ink and a feather pen.  
  
He dismissed the thought, and continued on with the story.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
When Adah was 6, she was in her second year of school, and could speak fairly well. She still did not have any friends, and her elf maidens had been changed. The new one's were somewhat mean to her, and she didn't even know their names. They would not utter a word to Adah.  
  
She rarely had seen Arwin since the day she had wandered off with the fawn. The times their paths did cross, their eyes would gaze at each other, but never a word was spoken.  
  
Elrond was always there to give her what she needed, but they never developed any sort of friendship. No, Adah was very much alone in the world, but she still found comfort in nature, and companionship with the animals.  
  
Spring was approaching, which made Adah happy, because it was her favorite season. Many new creatures of the forest were born at this time, and the trees and flowers blossomed more radiant then ever.  
  
Unbeknownst to her, spring was also the time that she herself would change. This spring her golden locks fell straight to the center of her back, and though, shorter than most elves, she grew to quite a tall height for a normal 6 year old human girl.  
  
***  
  
School had just ended, and as usual, she was the first one out the door. She tried every day to get away as fast as she could, to avoid the taunting of the other children, but sometimes they caught her.  
  
"Hey Adblah!" One child cried out.  
  
Adah turned around, but before she could respond, another spoke up. "Did someone cut off your ears, or did they just come like that?"  
  
She put her hands to her ears, as a little elf girl, who had been more popular among the elf children joined in. "Of course their natural. She's not an elf. No elf is that ugly."  
  
Adah lowered her head, biting back the tears. "Well, then where do you come from? What are you? Surely you're not natural." Another elf boy chimed in, and then the first elf replied, "Isn't it obvious? She's a warg."  
  
"Are you sure she's not an orc?" The girl asked.  
  
"No, even they are too good for her."  
  
Adah felt a fire grow inside her, and lifted her head back up. The Elven children were somewhat shocked by the look in her eyes, but none was surprised as the elf boy who made the last comment, when Adah flew at him. She instantly knocked him to the ground, and he screamed as she pounded on him.  
  
Adah felt strong hands pull her off the boy, and she continued to swing and kick in the air. She was set down, and when she calmed, she turned to find she had been restrained by Elrond. He looked at her angrily, and she shrunk back.  
  
He did not speak to her, but his eyes were fierce, and when he let go, she ran off into the trees away from the scene.  
  
Elrond stood up, and ignored the convicting glances of his company, which consisted of a member of his council, a personal friend, and Legolas, son of Thranduil who had returned from his journey.  
  
"What took place here today?" He asked the children.  
  
They all looked down to the ground, except the kid who had been knocked down by Adah. "She just came at me. No reason." He claimed.  
  
"No one fights without some reason boy."  
  
"I swear. She's crazy. You know she is. What, am I supposed to be compassionate to her or something? She's human, remember?"  
  
"Child, do not speak to the king in this manner." The council member spoke.  
  
Elrond help up his hand to silence him, and then waved the children away.  
  
"You're going to let them get away with that? You know they were lying." Legolas argued.  
  
"What can I do Legolas? It's better they don't get along."  
  
"You don't encourage this do you?"  
  
"No, of course I do not encourage fighting among the children, nor anyone who is not training for battle."  
  
"But you do nothing to stop it?"  
  
"Legolas!" The king yelled, but his friend put his hand on Elrond's shoulder, calming him, and Legolas ran off after Adah.  
  
"He is so young and Naive." The council member said.  
  
"We must watch out for him. His father is a dear friend, and Legolas is a potential warrior." Elrond claimed.  
  
"Yes," said his friend. "Have you not seen him with the bow?"  
  
"Nay, I have not."  
  
"Even the knife, but his father claims he has seen none greater, and I can testify. I have seen him, and never have I seen an elf take to such a weapon more naturally."  
  
At this the council member joined in. "I do see a great strength in him, but he is still a child himself. He has never faced such a grave danger as to feel the sense of loss."  
  
"Well, if he does what I think he's going to do, then loss is surely at hand."  
  
***  
  
Legolas found Adah kneeling down by the river, crying into her reflection. He walked silently behind her, and she saw his image standing over her in the water. She jumped up and backed away from him. "Who are you?" She demanded, her tears diminishing.  
  
He bowed before her. "I am Legolas, son of the great Thranduil of Mirkwood."  
  
"Thranduil? You are a prince?"  
  
"Yes good lady."  
  
"What do you want? I hope you have not come to taunt me more. The other kids have given me my fill for the day."  
  
"Of course not." Legolas shook his head. He felt angered at the site of the hurt child.  
  
"Well, I suppose you'll be on your way then."  
  
"Can't I stay with you?"  
  
She didn't reply. She stared at him confused. "Is this a joke? This is very mean. You said you weren't here to be mean to me."  
  
Legolas laughed. "No this is not a joke."  
  
Adah looked to the trees finding an escape if she needed it. "Well, even if it wasn't, I shouldn't, because I don't know you."  
  
"Indeed we are not strangers child. You and I have met before."  
  
"Have we?"  
  
He stared into her golden eyes that had not changed since he first saw her as a baby. "Yes."  
  
She waited for more, but he spoke nothing. "When?" She asked still prepared to run.  
  
"When you were first brought here. I was with my father that day in Rivendell."  
  
"Well, fine then. We know each other, or at least you know me. But I still think you should go."  
  
"Why then?"  
  
"Because they would get mad if you stayed with me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I am a heart breaker."  
  
"Indeed, you are."  
  
Adah started crying at this, and started off for the woods. Legolas ran after her and caught her. She struggled to get free, but she cried so much, her strength betrayed her.  
  
"I meant heart breaker in the manner of your beauty." She cried more. "You are not listening child. I meant you are a very beautiful little girl, and are lucky to be so, elf or human, and when you grow up those boys will be sorry they were ever mean to you."  
  
"I don't think it would make a difference. I have no friends."  
  
"Yes, you do."  
  
"No, I don't. Well, except the animals, but not the elves."  
  
"I will be your friend. May I?"  
  
She stopped sobbing and looked at him for a long time. Had she been any older, perhaps she would have doubted him, but her child like nature kicked in, and she grew excited again. "Yes! Yes!" She jumped. Legolas laughed at the site, but she ignored it, grabbed his hand, and dragged him as far as she could through the forest showing him all her favorite spots, and introducing him to her animal friends.  
  
He grew fascinated by her, and said nothing more of their first meeting, or of her name, and she didn't ask. She went on and on about what she liked to do, and the thoughts in her head, and her favorite games. She laughed and he carried her around on his back, so that she could reach some of the leaves on the trees.  
  
They sat in the fields, and she taught him how to make a crown of flowers, which he reluctantly put on his head. He felt silly, but she thought nothing of it. When she told him she wished she could fly, he picked her up, held her in the air, and as she spread out her arms, he ran through the field.  
  
Birds fluttered around them, cheering for Adah, and singing songs that claimed her tears were no more.  
  
***  
  
When they returned to the courts of Mirkwood, Elrond had been waiting for them, and Legolas' father arrived. He looked angered, and Legolas became nervous.  
  
Elrond summoned one of Adah's elf maids to take her back to her room. One of the older maidens came, and picked her up. "Will you be here tomorrow Legolas?" Adah asked as she was carried off.  
  
"No, I fear I leave for home tonight." Adah frowned. "But I promise to return every chance I get." Her smile returned, and she wrapped her arms around her carrier, and they headed back to her chamber.  
  
He looked a the two kings before him. "Don't look at me like that."  
  
"You know what you have done?" Elrond asked.  
  
"I have done nothing but offered my love to a child that has received none."  
  
"She has all she needs."  
  
"How can she have everything when she lives without love?"  
  
"She will live. You put yourself in danger here Legolas."  
  
"I will be fine."  
  
"I will not see my son lost over a human!" His father shouted. "You break whatever bond you have made with that child today, before it goes too far."  
  
"Father, I have made my decision. I have befriended the child. I have befriended Adah." Legolas folded his arms as a sign he would not change his mind.  
  
"As your king, I demand it!"  
  
"And what will you do father? Banish me?" With that he left the company, and retrieved his horse from the stables, heading home ahead of Thranduil.  
  
"I wonder where your son gets his stubbornness?" Elrond said eyeing Thranduil, trying not to smile.  
  
But Thranduil's mood was far from humorous. "Elrond," he said, "this cannot go on. You cursed yourself the day you brought that child here, and now my son has been brought into it, and I will not have it."  
  
"You deal with your son accordingly. You know I must care for the child until her hair darkens. If I break that oath, I fear worse curses upon my people."  
  
"Farewell then, but I will not return here until that child is gone." He bid his friend farewell, and left Elrond to his own thoughts.  
  
***************************************************  
  
"Jonathan?" Jonathan looked up form the story he had been so entranced in to find his wife standing at the door in her aerobics uniform. "Honey, ho long have you been here?"  
  
"I. I don't know. I think I woke at three?"  
  
"John, it's 7 in the morning. You have to leave for your business trip tomorrow. Go get some sleep."  
  
"I'm not really tired."  
  
"Well at least eat something."  
  
He looked at her tall slender body. Her blond hair was pulled back, and she had already done her make up. "O.K." He answered.  
  
"I have to go in a few. I've got my martial arts class this morning. Ted is the instructor today."  
  
"The weird one with the long brown hair?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"That man's kind of creepy. He's to quiet except when he teaches."  
  
"Yeah, kinda mysterious." She giggled. "Anyway, I'll be back to shower after, but I'm going out with Susan and Amy after words for lunch, and then some shopping, and I may not even be home until after you fall asleep."  
  
"O. K." He said remotely.  
  
"Honey, don't forget to pack. You're going to be gone for a week, so be sure to pack plenty. And don't make Freda pack for you again. For a woman, and a maid, that woman cannot fold, and she never packs what you need. Remember last time, you ended up with all the clothes you bought for our trip to Tahiti, and you had to buy a whole knew set of business suits. Jonathan? Jonathan? Are you listening to me?"  
  
"Yes, yes. Freda, pack, Tahiti, got it." He smiled at her, and she shrugged.  
  
"Do something productive today. I'll see you, well, actually, you're leaving so early, I guess I'll see you next week. Love you." She kissed the air, and disappeared behind the door.  
  
He folded his arms to his chest and blew out a breath he had been holding. He turned back to the window, and tried to picture Rivendell in his back yard. He found his imagination didn't work that well when it came to fantasy. Never the less, he stood up and put his hands to the window, and staring out, he thought of Adah, and how it must of been like for her to be touched with a compassionate hand after six years.  
  
His mind didn't quite jump to the realization of how close Legolas and her might actually get, and he didn't quite comprehend the idea of immortality. He'd often heard ministers talk of Heaven, and living forever after you died, but they always preached there was no pain in Heaven. But to live forever on earth, with all the suffering, even he endured, though he would never admit it, he couldn't fathom how the elves would even want to live forever in such a place. Maybe Adah was the lucky one, he thought.  
  
Then again, maybe not. 


	4. Little Sprite, Little Sprite

(A/N: This chapter is just the story of Adah. Obviously John didn't listen to his wife, and continued reading it, and really that's just because I'm way too tired to add anything else, and I want to post something because I haven't for a while. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, and I really hope you are enjoying this so far. In the next Chapter Adah's going to get a bit older. Probably in her teens, so that should be interesting, and really pay attention to the conversation she has with Elrond at the end of this chapter, because there's a real turning point for both characters in this chap. O.K, read and review. Love you all and God Bless.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own anything of Tolkiens.  
  
"If I close my eyes real tight, no one can see me, and if I don't say a single word, no one can hear me, and if I don't move even the tiniest inch, no one can feel me. I thought I was jumping up and down screaming wildly, but apparently not."  
  
CHAPTER 4: Little Sprite, Little Sprite  
  
****************************************************  
  
Adah waited impatiently for Legolas' next visit. Every morning she rose with the sun's warm call, and she'd watch long hours out her window for him; in chill wind and welcoming breezes, till her maidens had to tear her away. Every chance she got, after escaping her days watcher, she'd set out into the forest and prepare a place for him; where they could talk and play.  
  
Months had passed since there first meeting, and just when she was beginning to doubt his return, he came riding valiantly on his white steed, and it made her think of the elven stories she'd heard before. Particularly the one about Mayella; the slave Elf, who's fairy had given her a pretty dress and made her smell like roses and the prince fell in love with her. Adah smiled from ear to ear as he dismounted his horse and turned to face her.  
  
As his gaze caught her own, she froze inside. For the first time, fear overcame her, and she came about the possibility that he'd forgotten her. Or perhaps his first kind words to her had all been but a cruel joke. She feared, unexpectedly, that maybe he didn't want to be her friend.  
  
But he called to her.  
  
Immediately the fear released her, and she squealed, running directly to his open arms. He lifted her in the air, and all the surrounding elves starred in shock. He held her to his side, and received a kiss on the cheek from the tiny sprite.  
  
Many could not move at the fairy tale site, and Elrond, standing in the distance shook his head in disapproval. Still, he knew there was nothing he could do to persuade the prince of Mirkwood to change his mind, for Legolas was a stubborn elf, and little ever directed his decisions, save his own mind.  
  
The maiden who was responsible for Adah that day stepped forward, and smiled sheepishly at Legolas. Many a maiden set their eyes on the young prince, for he was one of the fairest elves that dwelt on Middle Earth, and none could deny it. He overlooked her expression, and she reached out to take the child. Adah clung tighter to Legolas' neck, and he told the maiden, "Rest today Odene, for Adah and I have business to attend to."  
  
The maiden blushed at the sound of her name departing his lips, and overpowered by his presence, became too weak to refuse him. He left her standing there as he walked away with Adah. "Come my love." He whispered in her ear. "For we have dragons slay, and new lands to discover." Adah closed her eyes tight, and dreamt of the wonderful adventures that lay before them.  
  
*** "Princess Adah, stand back and hide, for the orc draw near. I shall do all I can to protect you, for I have sworn an oath!" Legolas shouted dramatically. He scanned the open field for Adah, who was hiding among the tall grass. He spotted her long white hair, with his sharp elven eyes, and smiled. With one swoop of his knife, he pretended to kill an orc, and then turned to where Adah had been positioned and called, "Princess, the beast is slain, it is safe to come out."  
  
No sound or face appeared from whence he saw her last, and he once again circled around looking for the child. How had she escaped him? His ears could hear many a thing, but not a sound pressed against them then, with the exception of the gentle wind that blew back his golden hair and a faint bird song in the distance.  
  
Legolas jumped as a hand tugged on his green cape. He turned to find Adah giggling behind him. "How? ... But... how?" He stammered.  
  
"How what?" She asked.  
  
"Did you sneak up behind me?"  
  
Adah laughed at Legolas' expression. "Fredgar taught me how to be invisible."  
  
"Who's Fredgar?" He felt a sense of protectiveness cloud over him.  
  
"He's a rabbit."  
  
"A rabbit?" He asked laughing and picking her up.  
  
She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued, "yes, he's a rabbit. He has a family. It's SO big!" She opened her arms to signify its size. Legolas pet back her hair, and kept walking as she continued. "His wife's name is Ebony, and she's really pretty. But Fredgar showed me how to walk so that no one can see me or hear me."  
  
"You have a strong imagination young one."  
  
"I'm not making it up." She said defiantly. "He is my friend, and he showed me how to get away from my maidens."  
  
Legolas released an enormous laugh at this. "You know, you must be careful when you escape them. It scares them when you leave."  
  
"No, they like it." She looked down sadly at the ground, and Legolas' pace slowed. "They don't want me."  
  
"That's not true."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Legolas stopped and looked at the child thinking of the right words to say. "If you leave them, and get lost, and no one can find you, I shall be very sad."  
  
She looked back up at him and smiled. "Would you?"  
  
"Always and forever. It should break my heart."  
  
They looked forward, both alike in understanding the concept of the broken heart of an elf. Adah played with her hair and Legolas began to walk again.  
  
"Legolas?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Would you protect me from a real orc?"  
  
He stopped again, and looked her right in the eyes. "To the death, and anything after."  
  
They both smiled, and she kissed him again on his cheek.  
  
*** Night's blanket began to cover the sky when Legolas and Adah had returned. Elrond had been watching from the window of his thinking room, and when he saw them walking up into the streets of Rivendell, he rushed to meet them.  
  
Immediately he took the child from Legolas' arms, and saying good night to the prince, carried Adah away to her chambers. Adah felt the resentment radiating off Elrond, and cried out to him, "you didn't let me say good night to Legolas."  
  
"You needn't say good night to the prince. He has more important matters to attend to."  
  
Adah stopped sobbing, and thought about the king's words. "No!" She screamed, stopping Elrond in his tracks. "Legolas is my friend." She kicked at Elrond, until he set her down, keeping a firm grip on her hand.  
  
"He is not you friend." He yelled back. It was the first Elrond had ever lost his temper with the child. "Legolas is a prince, and you are dangerous to him. Do you understand what I say?"  
  
Adah's adrenaline raised, and she felt no fear towards the king. "I understand you hate me, and you don't want me to be happy! Lego my hand!"  
  
"Do not raise your voice to me, or presume you can tell me what to do." He bent down on his knees, took a deep breath, and calmed himself. "You are still a child," he whispered more to himself than to her. "Listen to me Adah." She bit back her tears, and tried to choke her sobs. "Listen. I do not want you to be sad here, but I have been left no choice. Do you know what happens to an elf when they are sad?"  
  
"Their heart breaks." She said softly.  
  
"And what then?"  
  
She looked down to the ground not wanting to answer.  
  
"One day, you will pass on from this earth, but Legolas will not. And he will be sad if he continues this friendship with you."  
  
She refused to look up at him.  
  
"Do you want Legolas to be sad?"  
  
She felt a burning fire, and an untold rage grew inside her. For the first time, she hated Elrond, and she hated Rivendell, and a selfish need began to develop. One that could not be contained or controlled. She lifted her eyes to the king, and Elrond saw an unfamiliar blackness in them. "Legolas will be sad if you take me away from him."  
  
The king was taken aback.  
  
"Legolas has bound himself to me. He has promised to protect me."  
  
"What do you know of being bound?"  
  
"I know a lot of things." Her words became wise, and she no longer sounded like a 6-year-old girl. "You are bound to your people, and Legolas is bound to me."  
  
The king's eyes grew wide, and he felt lost inside himself. He wanted to rid himself of the child, who no longer seemed human to him, but he knew that would not be possible.  
  
Adah put her hands to Elrond's cheeks. Her words flowed soft, yet chilled his very soul. "He will not leave me. He cannot. And if he does, he will die." She gave him one last long stare, and then turned and skipped off to her room, singing under the stars.  
  
When she disappeared, no sound was to be heard. Elrond was still positioned on the ground. He did not breathe, and an unnatural fear took over him. His mind raced back to all the humans he had ever known before, and all the children, but none had ever spoken to him in such a manner.  
  
***  
  
Back in his room, he stared at himself in his mirror. "I blame myself." He said to his reflection. "What will you do?" But he could think of nothing. He could not get rid of the child, he could not keep her from Legolas, or Legolas from her. The future looked dark to him now, and he wondered deep inside if the answer was close. But still, he saw nothing.  
  
Elrond picked up a feather that lay on his wooden table, and rubbed it to his face. The softness comforted him, and he relished in the moment, letting his thoughts sooth, and letting graciousness sweep inside of him. He sang softly to himself, and tried to remember the troubles of old. Perhaps there his answer lye.  
  
He thought of the look Adah had given him, and once again he felt himself chill, despite the warm air of the night. Something was happening inside her and he could sense it. He felt it had been of his own fault, letting the child grow up so alone, but still there was so much anger in her tone for a 6-year-old.  
  
He put down the feather, losing any peace he had felt the moment before, and let his mind wander through desolate wastelands and toil. He had to come to a decision. Lives lay in his hand, and his friendship with Thranduil was also put at stake.  
  
Still, he could not help but hear the child's warning in his ears. Had Legolas truly bound himself to her? He didn't doubt it, fully comprehending his young and innocent nature. Taking Adah away from him would possibly kill him, or change him. But then there was Adah's death. The alternatives weighed heavy on his heart, and he knew not what to do.  
  
He bent down to his knees and prayed silently. When finished, he strayed to the window, and peered up at the stars. They shown brightly, and the moon glowed upon his pale face. The stars reflected in his eyes, and he searched for wisdom of the ages, but the heavens were silent that night.  
  
He held his hand to his heart, and thought of his own daughter. He put her in Adah's situation, and tried to imagine watching Arwen living life and alone and unhappy.  
  
She didn't have many friends. She mostly hid herself in the little room and porch area he had given to her for her own private thoughts. Though sometimes she would stroll with a maiden or two following behind her.  
  
Then, Elrond began to realize that his daughter really did appear to be alone. He couldn't fathom why. And soon after his thoughts came back to poor Adah. The child did need a friend. Elrond knew he could never be that companion to her, and neither would anyone else in his kingdom.  
  
When twilight arose, he came to the decision he would not mess with Legolas and Adah, and he would let prince learn in his own way this unfortunate lesson.  
  
He finally laid himself down to rest, but did not receive much sleep, and soon, the sun was shining warmly and brightly through the room, kicking him out into the open air. He breathed in a new day, and somewhere in that breath, dust flew in, and dried at his lungs. He coughed, and then made his way down hall to speak with his council.  
  
***  
  
The day was hot, and tension was high, and Adah sat in the fields making songs of princes and flower crowns. She sat alone; No maiden, no animal, not even the breeze stood in her company, for none would dare. In the night she had become a stranger, and with the exception of Legolas, was more alone now, than she had ever been in her entire being.  
  
****************************************************************** 


	5. Truth Behind Perfection

(A/N: I know I said I was going to make Adah a teenager in this chapter, but that didn't happen. She's older, but only ten. Still, a lot of important stuff happening, and I think even some of the plans I had for this story are changing, but we'll see. R/R. Hope you like."  
  
CHAPTER 5: Truth Behind Perfection  
  
"When time and stillness collide, grace will shatter, and truths will be revealed."  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Years passed. Legolas never failed to visit Adah, and she never failed to wait. Sometimes the span between visits lasted weeks, sometimes months, but every reunion was just as sweet as the first.  
  
Legolas had found just as much friendship in Adah as she had in him. He was teased greatly in Mirkwood for having such a close relationship with one so young, but he cared not, for inside Legolas was still very much a child, and in Adah he found a world with no rules, and no limits. A world where fairies still existed, and dragons could be slain. A world free from expectations and formality.  
  
This greatly worried Thranduil, and he tried many times to talk to his son, but Legolas became more and more rebellious to his father. He refused to think of Adah being gone, though he knew one day it would happen. His immortal life gave him the feeling of forever; in himself, and in others.  
  
He failed to notice the changes in Adah every spring that he visited Rivendell. She had been getting taller, and fairer.  
  
The spring Adah turned 10, Legolas came to visit after 7 months had passed since his last. It was the longest he'd ever gone without seeing her, and he returned to a very angry child.  
  
He found her sitting alone in the gardens. She was staring at an empty birdbath. She didn't even have to turn around to know he was there. She could sense him behind her. She always could.  
  
She didn't take her eyes off the little fountain, and with her legs crossed and hands placed on her knees; she spoke calmly but sternly to the prince. "I was beginning to think time had swallowed you up." He didn't answer.  
  
Adah picked up a rock from the ground and studied it. "The birds don't come any more. The fawns have all grown, and flee from my call. All of Fredgar's children have left, and he and Ebony hide in their hole." She threw the stone at the fountain and turned with tearful eyes to Legolas. The flowers in the garden all pointed away from her. "I have turned to poison." She spoke with such great sorrow, and the sky began to turn gray. "Is that why you stayed away so long?"  
  
She bit back her tears, and Legolas himself struggled to keep from crying. He felt her heart's pain inside his own. "I have not abandoned you." He declared. "I tried to fight him, but my father is very powerful. He tries so hard to keep us apart." He fell to his knees, and his eyes pleaded with her to forgive him.  
  
She slowly walked to him, tears subsiding, and she stared deep into his eyes, searching for something. Placing her hands on his face she said, "my dear Legolas, nothing could keep us apart. You cannot listen to your father, nor anyone that tries to keep us away from each other. They are all full of lies. They despise me because they fear me. But you have no need to fear me. Do you fear me Legolas?"  
  
Her eyes enchanted him, and he felt control reaching out from her. Deep down, he couldn't help but feel some fear of the child. She held some power over him he didn't understand. But he knew he loved her, and believed that was enough.  
  
"I fear for you." He answered.  
  
"But why? Am I in trouble?"  
  
"I fear this place has caused you to grow so fast. You are still a child, and yet you speak as if some great wisdom lye in the back of your mind." He grabbed her hands and kissed her forehead. "Do you still play?"  
  
"Aye, but alone. The maidens no longer watch me. Their hate towards me grows stronger. The children no longer tease me though. I believe you may have had a part in that." She smiled at him, but it faded fast. "As I have said before, the animals have all departed from me. The trees whisper that I am a stranger to them all now. They say I have changed."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I know not. Stronger if anything." She looked at his expressionless face. "What are you thinking Legolas?"  
  
"How sorry I am that I had not come sooner. You have been through much pain these past 7 months haven't you?"  
  
"I have been through much pain my whole life, but I have you to bring me out of it." And with that she jumped in his arms and hugged him tight. "I knew you'd come for me. I never doubted it. I didn't mean what I said, I'm sorry."  
  
He lifted her of the ground, and stared out to the trees as she buried her head in his shoulders. "You need not be sorry. I am here now."  
  
She pulled her face up and smiled brightly at him. Her eyes shown more gold then he'd ever seen them before, and her yellow hair fell down to her waist.  
  
"I have school." She spoke.  
  
He put her down, and took her hand. "Come."  
  
He led her out of the gardens, and back up the stony steps into the city. He filled her in on all he had been doing in the past 7 months. He asked her the same, but she had not much to say. So he continued and talked on and on of his adventures and such.  
  
When they reached the schoolroom, she looked at him and spoke yearningly. "I wish greatly I could have been with you on your adventures Legolas."  
  
"I do too. Perhaps one day we will go on a real adventure together."  
  
She smiled at him, and then took off into the schoolroom. Legolas watched after her until she disappeared. Then set out in search of Elrond. He found him walking towards the back of the city, and called out. "Lord Elrond!" His voice was not too friendly towards the king, but he had many questions.  
  
"Ah, Legolas. I didn't expect you for a visit. How doth you father?"  
  
Legolas looked down, and smiled sheepishly. "He does not know I'm here, or well, I'm sure he knows by now, but he was not informed of my leave."  
  
"Legolas. You must take care in this matter."  
  
Legolas knew he was speaking of Adah. "This matter is my own."  
  
"But do you not care of your relationship with your father?"  
  
"My father has not the time for a relationship with me."  
  
"That is a silly thing to say and you know that to be true. Your father has forever."  
  
"Elrond, with all due respect, I did not come here to discuss my father. I will speak of his tidings if you'd like. He doth well, though something seems to be greatly stressing him lately, though I know not what it is. Still, he is good to his people, and our kingdom is flourishing."  
  
"That is good news. Now then, what is it you wished to speak with me about?"  
  
"It concerns the child."  
  
"Adah."  
  
"Yes. I fear she was quite angry with me for being away so long, though I could help it not. Still, there was something in her eyes today. Something different. She was not herself."  
  
Elrond looked down and thought of Legolas' words. "Indeed."  
  
"Then there is something." Legolas starred eagerly at Elrond awaiting a reply.  
  
"Legolas, I speak only truth." Legolas did not answer. "There has been a great change in the child. I find it odd you haven't noticed it before, but this change has been progressing over the years.  
  
"The child and I meet once a week. She tells me what she needs, and if there have been any great problems among the students, or her maidens. I make sure she's being treated properly, and she tells me of her schedule. It usually runs pretty smooth. But she's become, I guess you could say, somewhat rebellious."  
  
"What's the harm in that? All children are. Heck, I'll admit I am somewhat so."  
  
"You haven't let me finish. She rarely meets me any more, and when she does, she does nothing but stare angrily at me, or throw harsh comments."  
  
"Elrond, what did you expect after holding the child hostage here her whole life."  
  
"Legolas! Bite your tongue. You wanted to know what I've seen in the child, so let me finish!"  
  
Legolas held back the outburst he had ready for the king, and Elrond continued. "I do understand your reasoning, but there was something more there. Something in her eyes when she looks at me. Do you know, I've always found the color of her eyes peculiar. The shape too. It's so familiar to me, yet I've never met a human before with golden eyes. Brown, yes, but never so gold."  
  
"How much contact have you had with humans?" Legolas was mocking, and Elrond could sense it, but chose to ignore the comment.  
  
"There's something more than just the color though. Something lurks behind that gold that I can't place. I can only suppose it's the hate she holds for Rivendell, and all who dwell here.  
  
"Still, when she stares at me, I can see something inside her, planing. It's as if she has some plot to bring down this place."  
  
"Elrond," Legolas shouted. "How can you say such things. She is only a child! Do you really fear a child?"  
  
"She is not a child Legolas!" Elrond yelled back. But he quickly took hold of his temper and looked sadly to the ground. "I know it's because of me. I wish situations could have been different."  
  
"Then why did you take her?"  
  
"I did not take her. She came to me."  
  
Elrond and Legolas stared silently at each other, studying the other sharply. Legolas suddenly felt an odd understanding of Elrond. He saw a pain in his eyes that he had never before taken the time to notice.  
  
Elrond continued. "Legolas, you have given the child what I could not. Though I don't approve, I fear for what would have become had you not been there. And still, I fear for what is to come. I do not understand humans, and it has been long since I have felt any kindness towards a human, and maybe one day you will understand that. But you are still young, and have much to learn, and I don't doubt you will.  
  
"But I warn you now. You will not find Adah they way you found her before. She is 10, and yet she is 100. She is innocent, and yet she has crossed over into the world of good and evil, and I fear some evil lurks inside her. Do not be cross with me for my words, for you will soon find it yourself.  
  
"Or perhaps not. I see your defense for her. I believe she holds some spell over you."  
  
"Stop." Legolas demanded. "I will hear no more. You know not of what you speak." And with that, he turned and stormed away from a saddened Elrond.  
  
"Good bye my friend. I fear we shall no longer meet on friendly terms." Elrond turned, and continued his journey to the back of the city, to where his daughter rest.  
  
***  
  
Adah sat quietly amongst the students in her schoolroom. They were of all different ages. Rivendell had one class for all, for age was not so much of an important matter for elves.  
  
The teacher was an elf of a few thousand years. His name was Adalin Tucknin. He had lived on middle earth close to the beginning of time, and had seen many things. He knew of many myths, legends, and much of true history. He could answer almost any question, and in his time, had met many creatures of the past. Some extinct, and some who rest in hiding.  
  
His face was strong, and showed the wisdom of the ages plainly. His eyes were deep and blue, and one could feel stories lingering about them. His hair fell long and dark, and he always wore a belt with writing of many different languages. They told of his adventures, and of all he'd met before, now alive or dead.  
  
He had no personal prejudice towards humans, and had known many before he came to Rivendell. But he loved his king, and wished not to displease him, so he built no personal relationship with Adah. He secretly wished for it, and did his best to get her to participate in class. She seemed to like to learn of the world outside Rivendell, and so he gave many lessons on it for her benefit.  
  
"Good afternoon class." Adalin began. I have a special lesson prepared for you today, for I know the subject is something you all enjoy." He pulled out a chart with pictures of different creatures; Humans. Animals. Trees. Elfish writing sat next to each picture.  
  
The children's eyes stared wide, and they each leaned forward in their seats. Even Adah seemed eagerly interested, and this pleased the teacher greatly.  
  
Adalin pointed to one of the trees on the poster. "This is an Ent. The Ents are all around you."  
  
Once child raised her hand up high.  
  
"Yes Bellama?"  
  
"But it's a tree."  
  
"Yes. It's a tree. And an Ent."  
  
"But what's an Ent?" She asked.  
  
"A tree."  
  
The child sat confused and the teacher smiled. "You see Bellama, Ents are trees. Not just living trees, but trees that are alive!"  
  
"But then why are there none alive here?" Adah interrupted, and then sat back embarrassed. Adalin's mouth dropped open, but he shut it quick, and eager to appease Adah's interest, continued.  
  
"There are Adah. They're sleeping."  
  
She tried not to answer, but curiosity took her over. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Ents were always alive, but in the beginning they were deep in sleep, unaware of the world around them, until the elves woke them up and taught them things."  
  
"Are there any awake now?"  
  
"Yes, I believe there are Adah." Adalin grew excited, and he wanted Adah to speak more, but she sat back silent, so he moved on.  
  
He moved on to the next creature, but Adah ignored it. She continued to think about the Ents. She envisioned herself talking with trees. Maybe she could wake one up. If the animals refused to talk with her, perhaps the trees would.  
  
Adah looked back at the chart, and something at the bottom caught her attention. "Professor Adalin?"  
  
He looked back at her surprised. "Yes Adah?"  
  
"The human at the bottom. Why is she dressed that way?" The apparel was a clear material Adah didn't recognize, and it came down as a dress in many different layers of many different colors. Her hair was big and curly, and her eyes sparkled, even in the picture.  
  
"Well, because she's not a human."  
  
"But she looks like one." Called out a boy in the front.  
  
"Yes, well, so do elves." The teacher remarked.  
  
The children all made noises of disgust, and Adah shrunk back in her chair, but the teacher continued. "The creature is a fairy."  
  
"Like in the story about Mayella?" Adah asked sheepishly.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then fairies are a myth?"  
  
"That's not to be certain. There are many things that existed long ago, that were long forgotten, and developed into only myths."  
  
"Then if they're real, could there be any left?"  
  
"I don't think so Adah. Legend says fairies disappeared long ago. Either they're in hiding, or they were overrun."  
  
Adah thought about that, and became saddened. "How come she doesn't have wings?"  
  
"Well, that was part of the myth created about them. Fairies were really almost human. Hey looked like humans, but it's said there was something different about being in their presence. And it's also said they possessed magic."  
  
"What kind of magic?"  
  
"Nothing to great. It was more subtle than that of wizards. They could make things grow fast, and they could disappear if they needed to, though none is sure if they were just good at hiding, or if they disappeared all together. And nature was very friendly and open with them."  
  
"Were they immortal?"  
  
"Much like the elves, yes."  
  
Once again, Adah sat back and smiled. She contemplated this as Adalin went on.  
  
***  
  
Back in her room, Adah went to her window and looked out at the tree that grew near. She called to it, but it didn't change.  
  
"Come on. I'm a friend. I promise. Wake up."  
  
Still, nothing.  
  
"Mr. Tree. My name is Adah. If you wake up, I'll be your friend."  
  
The wind rustled the tree's leaves but that was all that stirred. She picked up one of her slippers and through it at the tree. Still nothing.  
  
"Fine!" She called.  
  
She turned and saw something over on her dresser. She walked up to the beautiful oak wood, and picked up a single red rose. A note lay by it that red, "The rose will one day pass away, but its beauty remains forever in our hearts, and the memory of how it gave light to the day, will never be forgotten."  
  
She didn't know what to make of it, so she went back out to search for Legolas.  
  
***  
  
Elrond appeared behind his daughter who was starring out from the edge of her porch way at the trees. "Arwen." His voice was gentle, but it startled her, and she came out of her dream.  
  
"I think perhaps I was wrong in giving you this room. You spend much too much time here. Shouldn't you be out with the other maidens?"  
  
"I do not wish to father. I have peace here."  
  
"This place is swallowing up your mind. You should come out into the world a bit." Elrond walked up to his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Odene was asking for you again."  
  
"Odene is a lover to gossip."  
  
"She is a very pleasant girl."  
  
"Father, she is a love struck girl who acts much too much like a child. I have never been fond of her."  
  
"Well, there are many others Arwen."  
  
"No father. I will stay here. If you wish me to take a break from this place, I will walk through the forest a bit. Perhaps I will visit the falls. But do not make me converse with anyone. Please."  
  
"Be it as you will." He looked down sadly, and before he left, kissed her forehead.  
  
Her eyes followed after him, and sadness over took her, but no tears fell from her eyes.  
  
Loneliness consumed her, but she preferred it. Guilt crawled around in her mind. Her stomach felt empty, but not from hunger.  
  
She slowly began to take steps down the stairs that led into the fields. The world around her felt strange and idle, but she kept walking. She felt the trees beckoning her, and she followed the warmth of the sun.  
  
***  
  
Legolas was waiting in the fields for Adah, right where she knew he'd be.  
  
"Legolas, Legolas!" She called out to him, still carrying the rose.  
  
He forced a smile, and prepared himself for whatever he might find in her.  
  
She held the rose up to his face. "It's beautiful."  
  
"Yes it is."  
  
"When did you put it in my room?"  
  
"I didn't."  
  
She stared confused. "You didn't give this to me?"  
  
He shook his head, and she turned and looked around her. She felt confused, and angry, and threw the rose on the ground. She jumped up and down on it, and screamed, and Legolas stood back in fear. He didn't know what to do or say or think. But Elrond's words rang in his mind.  
  
"This is an awful, cruel joke." She turned to Legolas, and tears stained her face. "Why do people hate me Legolas? I don't understand."  
  
"Please don't cry." Legolas forgot all that he felt before, and concern was all he knew. "Please. I hate to see you cry."  
  
"I would stop crying for you if I could. But I can't." She walked to him, and put her arms around his neck. "I would do anything for you Legolas."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her, and cradled her, letting her sob into his shoulders. He began to feel a pain in his heart, and quickly grew afraid.  
  
He stood up away from the child. "What? What is it?" She asked.  
  
But he didn't answer. The pain in his heart grew.  
  
"Legolas? Answer me."  
  
But he kept backing up. He starred at the child, and fear shook him uncontrollably.  
  
"Legolas?" She cried. "Legolas, please. Tell me, what is it?" Her tears seeped into her dress. "You're shaking."  
  
He stood there, and just kept staring. He'd never felt this pain before, and it scared him. He wanted to run. He wanted to turn and leave, but his conscience would not let him leave Adah.  
  
In time, she turned and ran. She screamed for Elrond. Legolas stayed in the field, frozen. He couldn't move, besides his shaking, and he couldn't speak.  
  
It was there, that Arwen found him.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Mr. Statton. Mr. Statton."  
  
Jonathan looked up angrily at the one who interrupted him. "What?" He snapped.  
  
Freda shrank back. "I hate to interrupt you. In fact, I think I shall never do it again."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"I'm sorry again Mr. Statton, but Dr. Falgand is here once more, and he says he has something very important to tell you."  
  
"Oh, very well. I'll meet him in the kitchen. I'm hungry." He heard his stomach growl for the first time.  
  
"O. K sir. I'll inform the cook."  
  
He hesitantly put the story down. He desperately wanted to know what was happening with Legolas, and may new questions were arousing in his mind, but he could not ignore his doctor.  
  
When following Freda, he noticed his wife's water bottle." Is my wife home?"  
  
"Mrs. Statton came and left. She said she was angry you didn't pack yet, and you better do it soon, or she'll call the hotel and make sure they don't serve you any good wine."  
  
Freda kept walking, and led him to the living room, where Dr. Falgand was waiting.  
  
John walked over and shook his hand.  
  
"Good evening friend." The doctor greeted.  
  
"Not quite. Come, we'll talk in the kitchen."  
  
Sitting at the table, Falgand sat, and twiddled his hands. He shifted back and forth in his seat."  
  
"You look uncomfortable. Can I get you another chair?" Jonathan asked.  
  
"No, no, but perhaps a glass of water."  
  
Freda brought them both glasses, and left back into the kitchen.  
  
"So, I didn't think you'd be back so soon." Began Jonathan breaking the silence.  
  
"I'd hoped not to."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
After another long pause, the doctor began. "John, we got your tests back." He picked up his brief case up, and put it on the table, then put it back on the floor. He opened his hands towards Jonathan. "There's really no easy way to tell you this, but. John, you have cancer." His next speech came out of the doctor's mouth much quicker than before, but Jonathan didn't hear much of it. "We'll have to do a CAT scan to find out where, but your blood clearly shows us that it's there. Now there's a number of ways we can treat this."  
  
Jonathan tuned him out, and Freda brought a plate of shrimp pasta, and placed it before him. Two spoons, two forks and one knife were placed orderly alongside the bowl. A napkin perfectly folded was placed on one side of the pasta, and a spotless champagne glass was placed behind it.  
  
The smell of the shrimp filled his nostrils, and the golden pasta gleamed in his eyes. He could tell from the smell, it was 5 star restaurant worthy. His food always was. A spice he didn't recognize was lightly spread over the pasta, and a warm steam lifted off it.  
  
"John, John?" The doctor called, but John didn't hear him. He just kept staring at the perfect, uneaten pasta set before him. 


	6. A Precious Jewel

"My love is fare my love is kind, my love is pure and true. And though he has no simple care, his eyes stay bright and blue."  
  
CHAPTER 6: A Precious Jewel  
  
Jonathan stood in front of his bedroom closet mirror. His wife had it installed when they first moved in. She couldn't leave the house unless she saw her full appearance, okaying every last inch of her womanly figure.  
  
Now it was Jonathan checking his stature. He started at his large feet. He'd taken off both shoes and stocks, and for the first time, noticed the thick dark hair pinned to his skin. His eyes trailed up his long legs. Not very muscular, he thought, and tried to ignore the way his huge knees made his legs look disproportioned. He then patted down his blue plaid boxers and decided to skip to his hips. He went straight to the stomach. He cursed himself for letting his gut start to grow. He then searched his arms, which he decided weren't too heart breaking. Really somewhat nice. He hadn't lost the muscle from his early days of working in the yard trying to impress his father, and out due his older brothers.  
  
The last item of body he studied was his face and hair. Women had called him handsome before, and even at his age, they still turned their heads towards him. His eyes were piercing, and full of forgotten memory, and his cheeks were soft and strong. His hair, though with little gray, was still full on top of his head.  
  
He went back to his eyes. They were too confused. To laden with anger and bitterness. His body was perfectly normal, despite a few areas of imperfection, and from his outward appearance, no one would ever guess his inside was so black. Black from his past, black from the present, and now, black from newfound future.  
  
The future: Something he'd always seen with and open eye. Never once did it look dark to him. But now, the blackness inside began to take over both his mind and his eyes. And for the first time in years, he began to cry.  
  
The grown man fell to his knees, and let the tears wet the floor. His wailing could be heard all around the house, but none came to him. None called to him. His whole life had showed to be perfect. Perfect house. Perfect wife. Perfect care. Time Magazine had even named him, Mr. Perfect. And somewhere along the line, even he believed it.  
  
He knew he was empty. He had always known deep in the back of his mind. But he never let himself believe it. He'd run from it his whole life. And now it was catching up with him. Now, it'd stopped him dead in his tracks. Now it'd pinned him on the floor, and it screamed at him, and covered him, and drew tears from his eyes, and pulled painful cries from his lips. It crippled him to the very state of a child. It brought him to a place he'd always swore he'd never be.  
  
He crawled up onto his bed, and sank beneath the covers. He hid his head under his pillow, until he felt suffocated, and then picked it up, and threw it at the mirror. His sobs began to cool, and he started breathing in deeper. His eyes pulled down heavy like rocks, and he drifted off into a deep, inviting sleep.  
  
Darkness surrounded him, but off in the distance, a white light like snow on the mountains shown bright. He ran to it, and as he got closer, the light grew, and it wasn't long before he was standing right in front of it.  
  
Peace overcame him. He dropped his shoulders, and his legs felt lighter than air. A gentle breeze blew against him like feathers, and he lifted his hands to shield his eyes.  
  
He felt a serene presence approach him. The feeling was so pure and genuine that he couldn't help but let soft tears fall from his eyes like a light rain on a summer day.  
  
The light began to dim, and when he moved his hand, a woman stood before him. She stood tall, her height matching his own. Her skin was a soft pale glow, and her hair fell to her waist; dark as the night that hangs over our dreams. The air around her seemed to sing. Her beauty was powerful, and it shook the earth around him.  
  
But it was her eyes that pierced him. Her eyes that made the hairs on the back of his neck raise and sent chills down to his toes. They were not the eyes of any human he'd ever seen before; They glowed. They spoke. They read his every thought. They sparkled like gold.  
  
With strong effort he looked harder, and he realized the two circlets that made him feel so unworthy, weren't just sparkling, they truly were the color of gold.  
  
He stood motionless. She stepped to him, and placed a hand over his heart. Words flowed from her, but her lips had not moved. Not once.  
  
"It is not over yet."  
  
"What?" He asked, starting to feel confident. It seemed as if a wall of protection was building up around him.  
  
"You know of what I speak."  
  
"The story."  
  
"Yes." The sound of her voice flowed like music, and it seemed to be more in his mind then around his ears. "She is still lost Jonathan. She needs you to love her."  
  
"How can I love her? I don't even know her."  
  
"But you do. You've become part of her, and she of you. You've been brought into her very being. You must believe in the magic."  
  
"What magic?"  
  
But she didn't answer. After his question, she began to fade. Her light, her hair, her eyes. It all went dark, and left Jonathan alone in the blackness.  
  
He opened his eyes, and looked to his clock. It read 3:30 pm. He'd only been asleep for half an hour. He felt tired, but he knew what he had to do.  
  
He threw on a robe, and ran to his study. This time he locked the door, and as he sat in his chair he promised himself he would not get up until he finished.  
  
****************************************************  
  
Adah flew back to the city. Her toes scratched against the concrete steps as she hastily ran up them. The wind blew back her hair, and tears stung her face.  
  
She screamed Elrond's name, as her mind revealed flash backs of Legolas shaking helplessly in her arms. "Elrond!" She screamed again.  
  
She saw two children playing on the street between some trees that grew at the city walls. "Please," she begged. "Where's the king?"  
  
They stared at her wide-eyed, never having spoken to her before. They quickly gathered their play items, and ran from her.  
  
"No wait." She called after them. "Please! I need to see the king."  
  
She turned and ran to his council room. But he wasn't there. Nor was he in his thinking room, or bedroom, or the food hall. No one would help her. No one would speak to her. And her mind continually replayed the incident in her head.  
  
She stopped in front of the schoolroom, too weak to go on. She fell to her knees and wept. "You have failed him Adah." She cursed herself in elvish tongue, and placed her hands over her eyes.  
  
She felt helpless as her friend stood somewhere in the fields, in some pain she didn't understand, and here she was, unable to find any help. A scattered crowd had grown around the crying child, and she turned to face each and every one of them.  
  
She stood to her feet and screamed out. "You don't know what it is you hate." She paused for a minute, as words flowed through her, coming from someplace unknown. "If you knew, you wouldn't be so hostile." Again she paused. She didn't understand her words, but her anger clouded her mind so thoroughly that she continued to scream at them all with such passion, the sun began to hide behind the clouds, and a chill spilt over Rivendell.  
  
She stood tall, and seemed to tower over them all. None moved, none even breathed. All except Adah. "I hate you all. You are nothing in my eyes, and one day I will leave this place, and forget every last one of you. And one day I will die, in peace, but you will live till the end of all time in torment of the memory of me. I curse you all. A time will come when the guilt will come over you so strong, you will purposely seek the companionship of mortals. Some will fall in love with them, and some will bind themselves with them. And then they too shall pass away and you hearts will break." Here she stopped. She thought of Legolas, and for the first time, all selfishness left her, and she cared only for him, and his safety.  
  
She turned to run back to him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped. She wiped her shoulder away from the hand, and spun around to find Adalin Tucknin behind her. "What is it child?" He asked calmly and something in his voice soothed her.  
  
"Legolas." Was all she spoke, and he took her hand and commanded she bring him to the prince.  
  
***  
  
Arwen found Legolas standing with his arms pulling tight to his sides. His fists were clenched, and his feet seemed to be digging holes into the ground. But it was his face that stopped her dead in her tracks. His face appeared whiter than snow, and his blue eyes glazed like water. Tears stained his cheeks, and his lips pressed tightly together.  
  
She ran to him at once. "Legolas." Her heart pained at the site of him, and tears escaped her eyes unnoticed. "Legolas." She cried again, and reached out to his arm. At her touch he instantly fell to his knees and then struggled to lay himself face up on the ground.  
  
She continued to stroke his face, and kept asking him to tell her what had happened, but he would not speak. She kept her palms to his face, and laid her cheek over his heart. She cried, and begged for his peace. Her tears seeped through his clothes and on to his chest.  
  
Never before had she been pressed with such an event. She hadn't been sure what to do. She hardly even knew the prince. They had been friends once in childhood, but time passed, as it does for elves, and their friendship faded. But now her concern for Legolas was as if she was losing a loved one.  
  
She lifted her head back up and connected her eyes to his own. They stared back and forth at each other, and his body seemed to calm.  
  
Legolas' wits were not about him, and his mind was racked with confusion, but the princess' eyes held him tight, and using all his effort, he remained there. He grasped her presence, using it to keep from falling into the shadow he felt grasping from behind him.  
  
The fire inside his chest began to cool, and his heart began to beat at a slower pace. He felt control slowly slip back to him, and he reached up and placed his hands on her arms.  
  
She felt his grasp, and looked to his hands. They were soft against her skin, and his grip was as light as a feather.  
"Arwen." He spoke finally.  
  
"Legolas!" She cried, and a smile stole her lips. She embraced him, and joy passed through her as she felt his heart beat at a regular pace in his chest. He lifted himself up and they sat silently together in the grass until Legolas felt inclined to speak. "She was so hurt. Years of so much pain built up, never ceasing." Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Her eyes. Never have eyes pierced me so, and she is but a child." He paused again as he stared regretfully into the trees. "I couldn't help what I thought next." He looked Arwen straight into her eyes, and fear darkened his own. "I wished her dead."  
  
Though the day was warm, his body felt cold, and Arwen felt herself freeze. "For so many reasons, I'm not sure. I wanted her pain to end." He continued. "I thought I was helping, but I saw her, and nothing, nothing I've done has ceased her pain. It broke my heart to see her that way, and that scared me. It was as if, because her heart was broken, so was mine, and I felt the bitter taste of death upon my tongue."  
  
He spoke no more after that, and Arwen felt there was nothing she could say to comfort him. So they sat there side by side on the grass until Adah and Adalin appeared.  
  
Legolas confirmed the spell had passed. Relief came over Adah, but Adalin still made Legolas lean against him as they walked. Adah fell breathless to her knees as she watched her teacher and her prince disappear into the city. Arwen looked down and met the child's gaze. She tried to read her, but Adah seemed to be falling into a daze. Her eyes squinted smaller and smaller until all went black and she collapsed to the ground.  
  
***  
  
Adah awoke to find herself in her own bed, covered in light satin sheets. Elrond was standing in a corner by the window, staring out, lost to the sounds around him.  
  
Adah felt tears close to her eyes, and there was a softness close to her heart as she thought of Legolas. She sat up and drew her feet over the side of her bed. She looked over and saw a golden jewel placed on her bed stand. "How did I get here?" She asked.  
  
Elrond did not look at her and answered with little emotion in his voice. "Arwen carried you."  
  
Adah felt confused and her head began to ache. She picked up the golden jewel and studied it. It was a thick bracelet that clasped at the top with two leaves that fit together at their curves. "I've seen Legolas wear a jewel like this." She said fingering the gold.  
  
"Indeed," He answered. "It is the crest of his family line. This was the very one he wore and he leaves it to you."  
  
"Leaves it?"  
  
"Yes for he has gone."  
  
She jumped to her feet. "Gone where?"  
  
"Home, to make amends with his father."  
  
"But he didn't say good bye."  
  
"Nay, and he will not."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
Elrond turned to face the child and dropped to his knees so he could be eye level with her. "There are many things you won't ever understand, if you keep hold of your stubborn heart." He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Adah, your time with Legolas has come to an end, for the truth has finally been revealed to his heart. You know how your friendship would have ended. Whether you pretend otherwise or not, you have foreseen it. And now, so has Legolas. It is for his own good that he left. You must see that. For once Adah, if you truly care for Legolas, think of him and let go."  
  
She did not move. She did not breathe. No tear fell. The wind was still and Elrond felt her eyes entrapping him. Though she looked as cold as water, fire burned inside her, and for a moment, no sound could be heard in Rivendell. For a moment.  
  
She turned to the mirror above her table, and as she screamed like a wild beast snared in a trap. She threw the crest upon it, shattering all the glass into tiny shards. Her screams could be heard all over the kingdom, and the elves of Rivendell feared a wild woman had entered their home.  
  
Rage filled Adah as she tore apart her room. Elrond tried to calm her, but she would not have it. She tore her bed sheets. She threw her shoes out the window along with her other beautiful things, but she left the crest among the glass.  
  
When at last her room was destroyed, and Elrond stood back defeated, she lay on her floor by her window and sobbed. She cried for some giant bird to come and carry her away.  
  
Elrond approached the child. "If you will, there is something I would like to show you."  
  
She pretended not to hear him, but something in the tone of his voice drew forth her curiosity, and a need she did not understand built inside her. She stood and followed him out of the rubble.  
  
They journeyed to the stables and Elrond set Adah atop of a white horse. "His name is Otho. He is young and will grow as you do. He is yours for all your days, and will bear you wherever your heart desires, when the time comes for you to leave here."  
  
Adah's eyes grew wide and she stared at Elrond, but spoke nothing.  
  
"But this is not what I wanted to show you." He whispered something to the stable boy, who, after bringing Elrond his horse, departed.  
  
Elrond clicked his tongue, and both horses began to move. They carried the king and the child along out of the city, into the trees towards the river, and far into Rivendell, farther than Adah, in all her exploring, had ever gone. 


	7. A Bit of Earth

(A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Just wanted to let you know that I have written up to 15 or 16 chapters on paper for this story, and a lot's going to happen. New characters are going to be introduced, and a lot of twists are going to shock you, dun dun dun!!! I just am trying to find the time and energy to type them out. But for my faithful readers fear not, for I have not abandoned this story. R/R!!!!)  
  
"100 faces all around, I know them each by name. And 2 are buried underground, still chat is all the same."  
  
CHAPTER 7: A Bit of Earth  
  
Adah stared up at the tall trees that outlined a path for the two travelers. The two were riding slowly along a river Adah had never discovered before. It took a long while for them to come down to the water, and even longer to walk down it. The sun was now high in the sky, and it had been around this time yesterday Adah had last seen Legolas.  
  
They seemed to be walking aimlessly when the river began to run into the bottom of a waterfall. Adah stared up in amazement. Never before had she beheld such beauty. The cliff rose high, and vines and flowers blanketed it. The fall poured its soul down into a crystal pool, lifting white foam that glittered in Adah's golden eyes.  
  
Elrond pointed up to a path leading up the cliff. For their journey to the top they would have to leave the horses behind. The climb took almost an hour and Adah's curiosity grew immensely. Such great effort and distance was being put forth, so whatever Elrond wished to show her had to be of great importance.  
  
When they reached the top, Adah stopped to catch her breath, and the exercise seemed to lift some of the heavy weight she'd been feeling. Before walking any further with him, she took a moment to look over the cliff. Much could be seen of Rivendell, all except the city. Elrond went to take her hand, and still mesmerized by the view, she took it. He lead her down the stream, and she wondered what more he could have shown her.  
  
They didn't go far when Adah noticed two mounds of dirt rose a little higher from the ground. No grass grew on them, but they were surrounded in flowers, and each mound was outlined with a trail of little rocks.  
  
"I come here often." Elrond whispered. "I come to seek council, though I receive little."  
  
Adah stared at the mounds confused. She began to feel a strange presence around her, and felt a strange connection with the two little hills. She looked to Elrond for approval and crept slowly forward. When she reached the mounds she knelt down in respect. She felt a vibe of great importance from below her, and slowly, she began to understand.  
  
"They are your parents." Elrond was now standing directly behind her. "They passed when you were only a babe, and when I found you, I promised to keep you safe here until your time came to leave. And so I have, and so I will, to the best of my ability ere you hate me or not.  
  
"Your parents were two noble creatures, and they loved each other with a greater love than I have ever seen. Nothing shook them, and with that same love they protected a part of my forest.  
  
"Fate turned ill for them, and so it seems for you, but your days are not yet over. Perhaps your tides will one day turn.  
  
"You may come here whenever you like. Alone or with aid. I will bring you as you please until you can find the way on you own."  
  
For the first time in his speech, Adah turned to him and her face was stricken with tears. She said nothing and turned back to the graves and laid her head upon them. Her tears watered the soft dirt, and none could ever describe what she felt at that moment.  
  
Elrond stole her away before night fell, and led her back to her room. She shut the door behind her and said not one word to the king. A candle had been lit for her, and she saw that her room had been cleaned. Her dresses hung in the closet and new sheets and pillows lay on her bed. The glass was gone, but there was no new mirror.  
  
She walked to her bed and found on her stand; another rose, a piece of paper and Legolas' crest. She first picked up the paper, and in gold writing it read, 'I try to hide in darkness, but the thought of you lingers on in my mind. Perhaps one day I will seek your forgiveness, though I deserve it not.' She put down the note and picked up Legolas' crest. She fingered it for a while, than kissed it and clasped it around her wrist.  
  
She pulled down her blankets, crawled beneath them and cried herself into a dreamless sleep. 


	8. Withered Away

(A/N: Sorry I haven't written in a while for all you who follow my story. I still have up to chapter 16 written out, so this story hasn't been completely abandoned. I will try to get as much up as I possibly can. Keep the reviews coming, but mostly, please just enjoy yourselves, and have a moments entertainment, as you escape from the world around you, and enter into a new and unexplored territory!)  
  
Disclaimers: If it doesn't belong to me, it's not mine!  
  
"For some, pain is a trial, to fight and overcome, and strengthen. For others, it is their air. They live, breathe and drink all that hurts them so."  
  
Chapter Eight: Withered Away  
  
When Adah awoke, her eyes felt warm and dry, but the pillows beneath her were wet, and as she placed her hands on her hot cheeks, she felt where the tears had fallen. "Had it been a dream?" She wondered to herself. Flashbacks of the day before reviewed in her mind. She saw Legolas shaking on the ground. She saw herself screaming at those surrounding her in the school yard. She saw her parent's grave.  
  
She shot out of her bed hoping the stinging inside had been brought forth by only a dream. She put her hand over her bed stand and petals brushed her fingers. There was the rose, sitting by the note, and a new fresh rose. She also found on her wrist, the crest of Legolas.  
  
She squeezed her eyes together tight as pain flooded in the depths of her being. She felt a cloud of darkness and loneliness encase her body, and whatever joy and filled her life before, slowly slipped away.  
  
Legolas was gone.  
  
She forced her weary body out of bed, and dragged her feet to the window. A chair was now positioned there, that hadn't been before, as if someone had spent the night watching her. She stepped past the chair and walked onto the balcony. She let the wind pass over her face. All the strength she'd left began to abandon her. Her body started to tremble and she grabbed onto the stone ledge for support.  
  
A strong wind forced itself upon her, trying to blow her back, but her feet were as heavy as rocks, and though her knees quivered, her feet held fast to the floor.  
  
Color now departed her face, leaving her white and ghost-like. The shine in her hair and eyes faded and her skin grew hot. A sharp pain rose deep in her chest and she let out an agonizing wail that chilled the hearts of all that heard it. Amongst those was Adalin Tuckinin, and he ran to her chamber as fast as his feet would carry him.  
  
Adalin found her laying on the balcony, shivering as if she'd just been pulled from a night chilled sea, but her head burned like fire, and was drenched with sweat.  
  
He picked her up and whispered old songs and comforting verses he'd learned on his travels. He carried her to the room of the healers, and laid her on one of the tables.  
  
None moved at the site of the child. They stared as if she'd been conjured by some evil wizardry, and brought forth for their destruction. Adalin turned to them impatient. "Can you not see I have brought you a sick child? Your job is to help all who dwell here, and Rivendell is her home as much as it is yours. Tend to this child, or lord Elrond will hear of your treachery."  
  
At once, as if stung by his words, the three healing woman, and the two apprentices frantically ran around the room, observing Adah, and seeking out herbs they could give her.  
  
Water mixed with plants was clothed over her brow. They felt at her throat, and rubbed her feet. But her state did not change, and she seemed to be in an awakened sleep. She called out the name Legolas, but she never opened her eyes, and seemed unaware of those around her. Adah was lost in a world she knew not how to escape from.  
  
The oldest healing woman there spoke out loud, more to the air than anyone in particular. "We've seen no case like this before. She is hot and drenched in sweat, and yet we can find no trace of sickness inside, or out. Her eyes are dark and she doesn't seem to be able to see out of them. I don't think she's really here, if you understand me." She gave the teacher a concerned look.  
  
Adalin looked over the child and sadness crept its slimy fingers over him. A dark cloud seemed to loom over the room. He turned to the woman, who seemed to posses the age and wisdom equal to Elrond and himself.  
  
"I think what takes her is beyond this world that we know." He said. "Her eyes tell all. What I see in them is what's inside her, and they are dark and void. They've ridden themselves of the fire they once held. I believe she is fading."  
  
He looked back to Adah who's fists were now clenched together. She seemed to be fighting a great battle inside herself, though none could tell whether she was wining or not. "She is only a child, and yet she is beyond her years. She has been through much, and I don't count her past fair to the least extent."  
  
Now all looked on the child, who's face was now taking a change. What light had once existed there, now turned to darkness. The child didn't even appear to be human any longer. Her form transitioned from a playful sprite to some poor creature, wretched from deep toil and suffering.  
  
None, not even Adalin dared to touch her, as if at the faintest touch she would whither away.  
  
It was Elrond who came in and took her. He didn't bother to ask what happened, for he appeared to already understand. He left carrying Adah in his arms, and bared her away to the river that led to her parents grave. There he sat and rocked her until her weathered body calmed as still as the fields in Rivendell.  
  
Some peace seemed to befall her. Whether it was the cool of the air, the sound of the river crashing amongst the shore, the shade of the trees or just the great arms of the elf-lord, Elrond did not know. But he did know that this child was now utterly alone, and he knew he was part to blame. He would have to set aside his fear of this being whom he loved and hated, this being whom he was bound to for a time, and give her whatever comfort he could.  
  
For once, he cast all his cares aside, and thought only of Adah, and as the heat fled her body, she seemed to sense it.  
  
(A/N: Well that's it for now. I know it's kinda sad, and the sadness thing gets old when it runs for too long, but in the next chapter, Adah's life is going to be drastically changed. It takes place a little bit into the future, and Adah's going to start having some adventures, and she even gets a new *&^%$# (sorry, not telling) There's going to be some new twists, and just to clarify, this story all takes place before the war of the ring, before Aragorn came to stay at Rivendell and all that, and if you've red all the appendixes of the books, then you'll notice some of the things some of the characters refer to. O.K, well, hope you still like my story, and I promise the next chapter's a little bit lighter and happier. (Disney style as my creative writing teacher calls it. Hee hee) O.K, that's it. Bye. Stop reading this! Yes, go home! Well, you probably already are home, but anywho, you get the point.) 


	9. Between Maidens

"You could give me the greatest treasure, and still its value holds low.  
  
But offer to me your hand, and I'll follow wherever you go."  
  
Chapter 9: Between Maidens  
  
"I made one for each of you." Adah said as she placed flower crowns on her parent's graves.  
  
"I know it's been a while since I last came, but I've been busy. I've never seen so big a party before, and I've been cleaning up for hours at a time. Arwen's leaving for Lorien tomorrow, and we don't know when she's coming back. Well, good riddance is all I can say. I know you wouldn't wish me to say that, but there's just something about her. Like she did something awful to me long ago, and can't remember. Every time I see her, I feel like a shadow. Well, then again, I guess I've always felt that way.  
  
"Except, things are somewhat better now I guess. There's this Elven girl, Lainamay. She's a handmaiden with me. Elrond adopted her into the kingdom not to long ago, and she started talking to me. I ignored her at first. I thought she just probably hadn't been told that I, you know, but she kept her persistence.  
  
"And I guess I finally caved. It felt good to be acknowledged. She's not so bad. She's not the best friend anyone could ever have but," Adah paused and closed her eyes as old memories poured back into her mind. "But what would I know of that?"  
  
She stood up and looked over the cliff at the trees and falls. She smiled as a cluster of white birds rose from the green and flew into the massive blue above. It was all very much like a painting. A gentle wind blew back her golden hair which now had reached her womanly hips. She held out her tanned hands and caught the wind in her palms.  
  
"It's spring." She whispered and turned back to her parents grave. "You should see how beautiful everything is. I saw two baby fawns on my way up here. Oh, I have something else for you." She pulled to red roses out of her soft belt. "Someone left them on my night stand. I found them next to a note that read "Happy Birthday" and some jewels for my hair.  
  
"I was going to ask Lainamay if she did it, but she doesn't know, and anyways I don't think it's her. Someone's been leaving me roses since as long as I can remember. Since that day Legolas went away."  
  
She took another sad pause before she continued. "I used to think it was a joke, but I've gotten two or three every week since. It's strange, but I almost feel like I kind of have a friend."  
  
She kissed the roses and placed them on the graves.  
  
"Adah, Adah!" A faint cry called from the distance, interrupting her trance. She turned and ran to the edge of the cliff, and looking down she found Lainamay waiting for her on a brown steed, standing next to Adah's own full grown Otho.  
  
"Elrond sends for you." Lainamay screamed up.  
  
"One moment. I'll be right there."  
  
"It's going to take you forever to climb down!"  
  
"No it won't. I found another way."  
  
Lainamay searched the cliff wit her big blue eyes. She was much older than Adah, but they looked the same age. "I don't see any other way." She called.  
  
"Just wait. Give me 15 minutes." Adah left her friend's sight, and walked over to a wall of vines. She pushed them aside. Behind the vines was a small entrance that Adah could bend down and walk through. It lead down the cliff and became dark wet caves. Adah knew the journey so well, she could make it blindfolded, even though blinds weren't necessary. The caves were dark enough already.  
  
First you walked straight for a while, and then you climbed straight down. At the bottom, there was a river that lead to the entrance of the caves, and the closer she climbed down to the river, the brighter the caves got. The walls shined with many colors, and during the day, the falls created a rainbow across the cave. The moon gave the caves a silver glow, making the water look like silk. And the fall fell like a thick curtain guarding any dangers that dared to enter.  
  
Before she entered the caves, she turned to her parents, and whispered, "Good bye, I turn 17 today."  
  
***  
  
When she got to the bottom, Lainamay and the two horses were waiting for her. Lainamay was looking in another direction when she came from behind the waterfall. Adah crept up behind her. "Hello!" She exclaimed.  
  
Lainamay jumped startled, and her horse took a few steps back. "Adah! How on earth did you get down?"  
  
"Maybe I'll show you someday." Adah smiled playfully as she climbed up on Otho.  
  
"Fine. Have it your way. Elrond sent me to find you. The dinning halls not nearly finished, and there aren't enough elves to help."  
  
"Why doesn't he get Arwen to help?" She sneered.  
  
"It's her going away party." Lainamay said defensively.  
  
"Well, it's my birthday!" Adah covered her mouth. "Never mind. Let's go."  
  
But Lainamay didn't move. "You didn't say anything to me."  
  
"Yes well, it doesn't matter anyway. It never did." And with that, she clicked her tongue, and Otho took off with great speed, making it hard for Lainamay to keep up.  
  
***  
  
They let their horses go at the stables, and ran to the dinning hall. Once inside, Adah's feet slipped from under her on a water spill. She fell to the floor, and Lainamay, who hadn't been too far behind, stumbled in tripping over Adah and toppling over her.  
  
They fell into hysterics, but stopped as a pair of large feet stopped at their eyes. Both girls turned to find Elrond standing tall, arms crossed and a firm look planted on his face. Slowly they stood up to face him.  
  
The girls stood before the great elf like two guilty prisoners standing before a judge, but when he sent them to work, they ran off laughing.  
  
Within the next few hours, the dinning hall was decorated, and dishes were laid out, waiting to be filled with the food that now engrossed the hall with it luscious smells to be placed upon them.  
  
When all was finished, Adah departed for her room to clean for the party. She was the only handmaiden in all the kingdom with her own room. When she told Elrond she'd wanted the job not more than two months ago, he agreed, but left her all her belongings. She didn't care if she was treated better than the other maidens. None of them liked her anyway, save Lainamay.  
  
She had hot water brought up, and she bathed quickly. When she was done a dress had been laid out for her over her bead. The dress was velvet, and colored a deep gold that would bring out her eyes. As she held it up to her form, she noticed it would fit tightly against her skin. Even Adah knew this dress was fit for a queen.  
  
Next to the dress was a note. "Please join us as a guest tonight. Not a server of the kingdom. Happy Birthday, Elrond."  
  
Lainamay walked in just then, and claimed as soon as she saw the dress, "Oh, it's beautiful!" She went to Adah, and ran her fingers down the fabric. She saw the note, read it, and then looked to Adah. "Are you going to wear it?"  
  
Adah studied the dress for a moment, and then dropped it on her bed. "No." She said, and quickly made her way to her closet, where she pulled out her work dress. "I will serve with the others."  
  
"If this is some desperate attempt to get accepted by the others, it wont work. You and I both know you're beyond that."  
  
Adah glared at Lainamay, and put the jewels she'd received that morning into her hair. "That's not why."  
  
"Then why?" Lainamay was now holding the dress, still admiring its beauty. "I would still wear this dress if it meant I would be despised by everyone in the world."  
  
"Everyone does hate you."  
  
"Oh? And why should they?"  
  
Because you're friends with me."  
  
"No, they think I'm weird because I'm friends with you. Everyone doesn't hate me. I'm too nice. You know, you could stand to work on your personality a bit."  
  
Adah ignored the comment, and slipped on her shoes. She watched Lainamay stare greedily at the dress. "Why don't you wear it?" She offered.  
  
"Oh, I couldn't." Lainamay answered, suddenly becoming aware of the value of the treasure in her arms.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I don't have the same connections you do."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Look, I'm a handmaiden because I was adopted into the kingdom from a lowly stature. But you... For some odd reason you choose to be a handmaiden, even though you were accepted into Elrond's family. You could be treated like a queen if you wanted, and yet you deny it."  
  
Adah laughed at the irony in her friends comment. "No one wants to serve me. When I was a child, my handmaidens used to take turns watching me so they could each have long breaks away."  
  
"And now you serve the same scum that always treated you so?"  
  
"Being a handmaiden hides me from their eyes. No one notices me. No one stares. No one bothers me."  
  
"Is that why you wont wear the dress?"  
  
Adah stared at the golden dress, long in silence. "No."  
  
Lainamay didn't respond. She waited for Adah to continue, who at the moment, seemed far away where no one could touch her. She moved to the dress, and fingered the velvet. Then she took the dress, and held it to her heart. "I can pretend as much as I want, but he'll never love me."  
  
"Who?" Lainamay asked.  
  
"Elrond." She smelt the dress, and the gold reflected in her eyes. "He tries. He gives me what I need. He tries to make me happy here, but I know how he truly feels. He wishes me gone. To him, I am but a burden, and a danger."  
  
Lainamay looked away to where Adah could not see her face.  
  
Adah continued. "This dress is a token of his guilt, and I will not wear his pity. Nay, I will serve him tonight, for until I leave this place, that is where I belong. You may wear the dress if you chose, and I will inform Elrond of my consent."  
  
Lainamay turned back to Adah, and released the piece of the dress she was still clinging to. Adah let go as well, and Lainamay took her hand.  
  
Before they walked out of the room, Lainamay looked to her friend and said, "Happy Birthday Adah." 


	10. A Night Unique

"I wouldn't wish for a thousand horses to carry me away if you would remain with me from night until day."  
  
Chapter 10: A Night Unique  
  
The party was grand. All were invited, and none left the dinning hall that night the same. Light filled the room with happiness and smiles plastered everyone's faces.  
  
Elrond, Arwen and her 2 brothers sat at the head of the tables. They all laughed together and Arwen seemed pleased with the decorations of the hall. Elrond was pleased at his daughter's approval, and every so often he would plant a kiss on her cheek or her head.  
  
Adah watched from a distance as jealousy crept inside her. She tried to avoid Elrond's table, and distracted herself with all the dancers. The elves could not resist dancing to the wonderful music flowing around the room. It gave even Adah some joy to watch the jovial display.  
  
Lainamay was opposite the room as Adah, and was serving Elrond's table, when he grabbed her arm. "Where is Adah?" He asked calmly, a smile playing upon his lips as he watched the festivities around him.  
  
"There my lord." She answered pointing to Adah across the room.  
  
Elrond was angered when he saw her serving the elves, and in her work gown. Annoyed, he waved Lainamay away, and studied Adah.  
  
Arwen caught her father's awkward stare, and her eyes trailed to Adah. Her smile faded and she moved her eyes to the table. Fingering her cup, she became lost in her thoughts. Sadness made its way inside her. "No Arwen." She thought to her self. "Not tonight." The she looked to her father, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Father? Would you not care for a dance?"  
  
He smiled at her and grabbed her hand with his own. "Of course my love."  
  
Gracefully they swept across the room. It was a pleasurable site as Elrond whispered random comments into his daughter's ear, making her laugh. Her laughter was beloved around the kingdom, for it was seldom heard, but when it was, all other sounds drained away and became sweet music to everyone's ears. All except Adah.  
  
She was now leaning against a wall at the back of the hall, staring enviously at the girl and her father. She imagined herself in Elrond's arms. She pictured the two of them prancing around the room, all others staring and cheering. She pictured Elrond whispering in her ear, and running his fingers in her hair. She imagined when it was all over, they would roam around the city, arm in arm, reminiscing over the past.  
  
Her thoughts brought tears to her eyes. She was beginning to lose strength, so she crept along the wall to the kitchen and ridded herself of her tray. The cooks began to give her more food, but she ran off before they could get a word in.  
  
Her feet took her to a fountain in the school yard. The silver moon reflected in the water, revealing her tear streaked face. Adah stared at her reflection. Her eyes seemed to glow. Her tears fell down into the water, causing ripples to form, misshapeing her face.  
  
From inside the school room, Adalin Tucknin could hear her loud sobbing. He slowly got up, and walked outside finding Adah leaning over the fountain. He sighed and went to sit next to her. After debating with himself for a moment, he laid a gentle hand on her hair.  
  
With fast reflexes, she pulled away. Wiping her tears she said, "You shouldn't touch me Mr. Tucknin."  
  
"Why not child?" He said, voice calm and soothing.  
  
"It's just not a good idea."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Touching someone always leads to feelings and emotion. Even I know that. You wouldn't want to start feeling anything for me."  
  
Adalin stared long and hard at Adah and finally answered, "It's too late my dear."  
  
Adah closed her eyes tight, and took in a deep and difficult breath. Her mind had trouble discerning his words, but when she did, she opened her eyes to her kind teacher, and tears fell uncontrollably. She ran into his arms and buried her face in his chest. He took his large and loving arms and wrapped them around the sobbing girl.  
  
When Adah was able to obtain a little control she said, "Mr. Tucknin?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Would you sit with me, and tell me more about other creatures far away? More about the ents, and the fairies and even more about the men?"  
  
He looked down at her and smiled. Placing a soft hand on her face he said, "Of course."  
  
They sat together on the fountain, a little apart from each other, and he spoke for hours of his travels, as if she were the first person who ever cared to listen. Adah watched the stars and breathed in everything he said. She made him describe everything in detail so she could picture the outside world in her head.  
  
He stopped as she began to feel herself grow drowsy. "Thank you." She said turning to him. "One day I'll go on an adventure Mr. Tucknin. I'll meet other men and women like me. So you don't have to remember me. I release you from any bondage I seem to hold on you. I will not despise you for it. I just don't want you to suffer over me. I want you to go and go on more adventures and let time pull me from your mind. Please Mr. Tucknin. Don't cry for me. You've given me more tonight than any have ever given me in my existence."  
  
She leaned in and kissed his forehead, then disappeared into the night, leaving him speechless at the pond. It was the last time she'd ever see him, for he left Rivendell that night. And though she was saddened that he had gone, she harbored no anger towards him, and she knew that he was out in the world, do something amazing.  
  
***  
  
A surprise was waiting for Adah when she returned to her room. Arwen was sitting in a chair at the window. "Can I help you miss?" She asked trying to hide her scorn. Arwen didn't answer. "Shouldn't you be at your party?"  
  
"The parties over." Arwen stood up to face Adah. Candles flickered around the room, and in Arwen's hand, Adah saw a long stemmed red rose. "When you were a baby," Arwen began, "my father brought you to Rivendell. We all; me, my father, Legolas and king Thranduil, stood around you, and fear was in all our hearts. All except Legolas, who loved you instantly."  
  
Adah froze at the mention of Legolas' name.  
  
"He named you Adah. It means ornament, and he spoke of your beauty.  
  
"We all sensed the danger, and afraid, I left the room. Anger took me. I did not understand why my father would allow a mortal to live among us.  
  
"One morning you came and you opened your arms to me. I rebuked you. I immediately felt the error of my words, and all the anger towards you and my father for bringing you here turned to guilt.  
  
"Then I believe I was beginning to understand you, for I too was alone. My anger and my guilt kept me away from everyone, and for years I hid in the place my father gave me. I give that place to you now."  
  
Arwen laid the rose on the table by Adah's bed, and then walked to her, and placed her hands on Adah's shoulders. "There is nothing I can do to make up for all you have suffered. Had I not been so afraid I would not have stood back and watched. But I promise never to make the same mistake again.  
  
"I leave for Lorien tomorrow. I know not what my future holds, but if I am ever to meet another mortal, I will love them as if it twere my fate to love them, and always, I will think of you."  
  
She bent low, and kissed Adah on the cheek. "Happy Birthday," she whispered in Adah's ear. After taking one last look upon the girl, she walked out of the room.  
  
Adah could barely breath. Her heart raced and she was unsure of what she was supposed to feel just then.  
  
She grasped Legolas' crest, and fingered it softly. She thought of him, as she often did. Her heart weighed heavy in her chest, and she felt as if she'd made and lost many friends in one night.  
  
She went to the stand and picked up the rose, and to her surprise, she felt guilty for her prior feelings towards Arwen. She put the rose carefully back on the stand, and made a note to get a vase of water to put it in.  
  
She went to the edge of her bed where the dress still lie, and she hung it back up in her closet.  
  
As she lay back in her bed, the day played over in her mind. A chill filled the room, but she didn't feel like closing the drapes over the window. She knew after today, life would go back to normal, but inside, she would never be the same. She was still confused about a lot of things, but what she was sure of was that she wished tomorrow would never come. 


End file.
